CCE's education centres support IGD's feeding Britain's future
Coca-Cola Enterprises provides skills training to help tackle youth unemployment as part of a nationwide initiative by the entire food and grocery industry.
This September young jobseekers from in and around East Kilbride, Wakefield, Hemswell, Edmonton and Sidcup had the opportunity to gain the skills they need to get back into work when they visited the Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) education team as part of a nationwide campaign to tackle youth unemployment.
Following the success of a pilot project in 2012, the entire food and grocery industry launched Feeding Britain’s Future – Skills for Work Month 2013, helping young people across the UK to develop expertise and improve their employability.
Feeding Britain’s Future, led by research charity IGD, is the first initiative of its kind, giving young people access to farms, factories and stores, and first hand knowledge of the skills needed for a career in the food industry or elsewhere. The food and grocery industry is the UK’s biggest private sector employer providing 3.7m - or one in seven – jobs and there are a huge range of careers on offer.
Last year 70 businesses participated, in 700 locations covering every region in the UK. The campaign provided 10,000 training opportunities with 98% of participants saying they felt more confident applying for a job.
This year the campaign has over 100 companies signed up and plans to offer more than 12,000 opportunities for young unemployed people across 1,000 locations nationwide.
CCE’s education team, with support from its HR, Learning Development and Talent Acquisition departments, delivered CV and interview sessions to help the youngsters taking part develop their job-seeking skills with the aim of improving future employment prospects. As well as workshops to improve their soft skills, all participants had the chance to go on a factory tour to see how the business is run and witness the range of careers available in manufacturing and the soft drinks sector.
Bill Muirhead, Education Programme Manager at CCE, explains:
“Feeding Britain's Future, led by research charity IGD, aims to galvanise the entire food and grocery sector to help 16-24 year olds across Great Britain gain the skills they need to get into work. It is the first initiative of its kind, giving young people access to farms, factories and stores, and first-hand knowledge of the skills needed for a career in the food industry or elsewhere.”
Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive, IGD, said:
“The UK food and grocery industry employs 3.7 million people - making us Britain’s biggest private sector employer. With that scale comes responsibility - we have a vital role to play in tackling youth unemployment by sharing our advice and experience.
“Feeding Britain’s Future is bringing the industry together to share the rules of the game with young people. We hope young people from in and around East Kilbride, Wakefield, Hemswell, Edmonton and Sidcup will make the most of this opportunity to develop their skills and grow their confidence.”
