Almost a quarter of food and grocery businesses are unable to recruit employees capable of even basic food technology skills to fill positions.
A survey of food and grocery retailers and manufacturers has identified significant gaps in professional numeracy and literacy among new recruits with 22 per cent of companies unable to even fill vacancies with candidates with suitable skills.
Business leaders have come out in support of widespread change under the auspices of the IGD. Sainsbury’s ceo Justin King, Co-op ceo Peter Marks amd Waitrose md Mark Price are among the signatories to a letter issued this week to The Times in which the industry said it is “ready to play its part”.
In the letter, they said: “We also recognise the challenges faced by many, particularly the young and unemployed, struggling to find opportunities to demonstrate their capabilities to develop vital experience.”
Of those surveyed, some 80 per cent said there were skills gaps in basic literacy among leavers while all said the same group had no ability to develop and use budgets or weekly sales figures.
In terms of graduates, 86 per cent claim there are “some gaps” and nine per cent “significant gaps” in business maths skills.
The IGD Employability Pledge has been signed by businesses in the food and grocery chain committed to providing high quality work experience and work opportunities.
Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of IGD, said: “Through work experience programmes, apprenticeship schemes, graduate placements or simply talking to local schools, these companies can help people to gain valuable knowledge, experience and skills, growing confidence and future employment prospects.
“The food and grocery industry in the UK provides more than 3.54 million jobs, and as such we need to ensure we are able to recruit capable individuals both now and in the future. This is a world class industry, and we embrace people of all backgrounds, with varied levels of skills and qualifications - as long as they have the enthusiasm and drive to make the most of the opportunities available.”
Justin King, president of IGD and chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said: “The UK food and drink industry is a world leader but needs to do more to sell itself and attract the best and brightest UK graduates and school leavers . This new pledge, signed by more than 20 companies, demonstrates our commitment to improving skills and employment opportunities as the economy continues to recover.
“Grocery retailers and manufacturers exist within every community in the country. We already deliver some great opportunities all over the UK and this pledge will help us to galvanise the whole industry towards collective and concerted action.”
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