25.11.2008
Young people will soon have the chance to get a feel for the food and drink industry at the click of a mouse, through an exciting new online library of careers options.
Gibsons Foods, which manufactures fresh sandwiches and chilled foods, is the first food processing company to be featured on icould, a new and unique online portal designed to give school pupils an insight into the experiences of real people working in real jobs.
Gibsons Foods’ involvement in the initiative was facilitated by sector skills council Improve. Rachael Owen, skills development adviser at Improve, said: “The icould website looks set to be a major new resource for young people, featuring thousands of workers from across all industries, so it was vital to ensure the food and drink industry is represented. Food and drink still struggles to recruit young people, who are unaware of the breadth of opportunities available within the industry. We are working hard to encourage school pupils to consider a career in food and drink, and icould provides us with an additional tool with which to do that.”
Irene Burrows, HR manager at Gibsons Food was keen to be involved in the scheme. “It’s one thing to have a teacher or careers adviser talk to students about various job options, but it’s completely different for young people to learn about jobs from the people who actually do them,” she said. “The site gives the opportunity to bring the industry to life. At Gibsons we offer work experience placements and host school visits, and the students are always amazed to learn what goes on in the factory. The icould initiative will enable us to engage with a far greater number of young people, helping to get them enthused about the opportunities available in the industry.”
Gibsons’ Ellesmere Port facility played host to a camera crew from icould, which filmed fourteen employees talking in detail about their jobs. Workers from across the production chain were selected to highlight the range of roles available, including a craft baker, a hygiene operative, a production engineer, a developmental technologist and a senior buyer.
The icould site will go live in 2009, and its makers, the Career Development Organisation (CRAC), intend for it to be a living archive of stories, continually updated with new career options. There will be more opportunities for other food and drink job roles to be featured – for further information, contact Rachael Owen at Improve, on Rachael.owen@improveltd.co.uk.
