A taste for recruitment – job trends within the food industry

The food industry is one of the only industries currently creating jobs, although there is still generally a greater demand than supply.

In the UK food and drink is the country’s largest manufacturing sector, which, according to the Food and Drink Federation, accounts for 16% of the UK’s total manufacturing.

It employs around 400,000 people directly in the UK and approximately 1.2 million are employed in related areas.

Gaps in the market

So what areas are companies looking to hire in the most at the moment?

"Most of the jobs that are in the highest demand include production and manufacturing jobs, technical and engineering, new product development and sales / commercial," says Christopher Shanahan, Chemicals, Materials and Food Industry Analyst/Growth Consultant for Frost & Sullivan.

"These jobs are the most crucial business functions that companies need to fill and maintain in order to drive a sustainable business strategy."

According to the Food and Drink Federation there is a particular need for qualified food scientists and technologists in the industry. With one in five vacancies proving difficult to fill, this area is one that will be highlighted in its Taste Success careers campaign.

Sharon Green, Head of Skills and Employer Engagement at Lincoln University’s Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Animal Sciences, says UK companies are also currently competing for good quality graduates and multiskilled staff.

"Companies may be looking for the same type of people and so some jobs are highly paid – for example, if you look at the average pay for a hygiene manager they are commanding more than production managers, which is a huge shift compared to ten years ago," she says. "Food companies don’t always predict training budgets to meet their training needs and, of course, as soon as there are drops in profit and so on the training budget is very often cut first."

Major food recruitment issues

According to Shanahan growing food and commodity prices are creating one of the biggest problems in the industry. "Manufacturers are increasingly squeezed by rising commodity prices and their inability to carry over the cost increases to its end users at the same rate – as a result short-term profit growth is challenged," says Shanahan.

"The economy in general is changing the average consumer’s priorities and this has a negative impact on grocery budgets," he adds.
"From a training perspective there will be more limited funding in the coming years which will drive employers to pay for training and at lower levels companies may decide to not pay," says Green.

"I suspect that the increase in university fees will also affect the number of graduates available for recruitment and the drive towards part-time or vocational routes will grow in time."

Research recently carried out into the UK skills market identified the following areas as the major issues in the food manufacturing job market: lack of skills in the industry especially technical and production; lack of younger people coming into the industry, which creates an aging workforce; and reliance on temporary labour.

In terms of recruitment, young learners keen to engage in NPD / Science (lab) type roles do exist, she says, but the industry is still not perceived as a rewarding career when looking at production and technical roles.

Many managers have been recruited internally which can bring about other training needs. "There are a growing number of applications onto apprenticeships and I would suggest that this will grow in the coming years as a real alternative to academic routes that will cost more for individuals."

Food factors

The key mega trends expected to have a direct impact on industry growth and recruitment, says Shanahan, can be grouped into three main categories: globalisation and changing economics, growing sensitivity to food safety and sustainability issues; and the rising need for health and wellness solutions.

In terms of globalisation and changing economics, Frost & Sullivan anticipates economic rebound to continue, increasing consolidation within food processing, rising food prices due to demand from emerging economies and full industrialisation of developing countries.

The BRICS countries, which now make up 40% of the world’s consumers, are growing the demand for protein and processed foods. "Increasingly, the quality of the skilled labour force in BRIC countries is comparable to the developed regions and will increase the competitive environment for food jobs," says Shanahan. The BRICS will also have a lot to offer in relation to lean manufacturing and robotics, suggests Green.

Food safety, which requires the continuous re-assessment of ‘safe’ chemicals and materials for food and beverage and agricultural production, is presenting itself an issue as customers increasingly gain access to processing information believes Shanahan, adding that companies using sustainable resources will become the norm.

In terms of the growing need for health and wellness, it is ‘increasing urbanisation’ that is impacting the demand for health and wellness. Consumers are demanding less salt and sugar in their processed foods, simpler ingredients (the fewer the better), and more natural flavourings.

"By 2020, Frost & Sullivan expects that companies with a truly global market and product strategy that fully exploit the growing demand for health and wellness solutions, and adopt an all-encompassing sustainability strategy, will come out on top and be the leaders of the food and beverage industry," concludes Shanahan.

The Food and Drink Federation’s figures show that by 2017 the sector will require 137,000 new recruits of which 45,000 will be in managerial roles and professional occupations (estimated at 33%).