Education and training charity IGDis celebrating a successful year for its charitable programmes, training over 10,000 students in schools and offering over 17,000 free learning opportunities for employees in the industry.
IGD runs a number of charitable schemes aimed at educating young people about the career opportunities in food and grocery, training grocery industry employees, and supporting collaborative work across the sector.
Chief executive Joanne Denney-Finch said she was “delighted” by the progress made by her organisation’s charitable initiatives in 2017.
“The food and grocery industry continues to change at pace, bringing many challenges and opportunities for companies,' she said.
“I’m extremely confident that IGD’s charitable initiatives are making a tangible impact and helping our industry face into the challenges with confidence and continue to deliver public benefit.”
One of the organisation’s programmes is Feeding Britain’s Future, which delivers workshops in schools nationwide where students are introduced to food and grocery professionals to hear about the diverse range of careers available and learn about employability skills.
With the support of 2,500 industry professionals, the IGD trained over 10,000 Year 9 and Year 12 students in 2017.
Another of its educational initiatives is Leading Edge – a free personal development network, which provides lifelong learning for employees of the food and grocery industry.
In 2017, 40 masterclasses were held up and down the country, and over 500 people attended the annual conference, featuring guest speaker Lenny Henry.
In addition, the IGD’s Efficient Consumer Response scheme helps the industry to work together to fulfil consumer wishes better, faster, at less cost, and in a more sustainable way.
And its Healthy Eating Programme, which this year involved nearly 10,000 people, is designed to help the industry promote healthier diets through research, insight and recommendations for food and grocery companies.
IGD plans to further extend the reach of its charitable initiatives in 2018, with a focus on informing and inspiring school children about the world of work and careers in food and grocery; developing new resources for teachers and piloting new STEM related activities; upskilling grocery industry employees; and bringing people together to support collaborative work.
Denney-Finch said: “I believe 2018 will be another extremely successful year for IGD and I’m looking forward to seeing our initiatives develop and broaden their impact even further.'
