Graduates: The Food Industry Needs You

I encountered an article about the rising need for food-related employees in Great Britain, but from what I can surmise, the same need is present here in America.  While it's become "trendy" for people to seek out high-profile jobs like chef's and sommeliers, the back-end of the industry has suffered.

The food and drink manufacturing industry is crying out for fresh graduate talent, and will need 45,000 new recruits in managerial and professional roles by 2017. That’s according to the industry’s representative organisation, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which is running a campaign to attract graduates and school leavers to careers in this area. Last week the FDF welcomed news of government support for the sector involving a £1.7m investment in developing the skills of the workforce and creating new jobs.

Getting a job in the food industry doesn't have to involve cooking.

A key focus of the FDF’s careers campaign is to highlight the current shortage of qualified food scientists and technologists. According to the FDF’s research, one in five food scientist and food technologist vacancies in the UK are difficult to fill.

What's causing the current shortage is the same thing that's starting the plague the U.S. economy - "the greying" of industries.

Angela Coleshill, FDF’s director of competitiveness, said, ‘With over a third of the workforce due to retire in the next five years and the current shortage of technicians and engineers, attracting talent and upskilling our existing workforce will be vital to ensure we have the technicians, managers and leaders of the future.’

Graduates wanted for food and drink careers : graduate jobs, careers, recruitment TARGETjobs.