Companies have been urged to come forward to commit to the relaunch of IGD’s Feeding Britain’s Future programme aimed at tackling a looming workforce crisis.
The Grocer revealed in February the IGD was bringing back its campaign after warning of huge skills shortages despite growing youth unemployment.
It said today the movement aimed to mobilise the scale and diversity of the food system to equip young people to work and progress in the industry.
The commitments asked for by companies are to:
- Scale meaningful engagement through schools employability workshops. IGD plans to reach over 50,000 students annually from 2027 through employability workshops that build essential skills such as communication, teamwork, and commercial awareness while bringing the food industry to life through real employer insights and interaction.
- Offer modernised work experience. The plan is to move beyond traditional, limited placements to a blended model of work experience, combining virtual experiences, employer-led projects, site visits, and short placements making access more scalable, inclusive, and relevant to today’s workforce.
- Equip the influencers who shape career choices. Companies are asked to provide high-quality, accessible resources via careers platforms for students, teachers, and parents, recognising that awareness of food careers is often low, and that teachers and parents are critical enablers in shaping perceptions and decisions.
The revamp of Feeding Britian’s Future comes with a recent report showing that while the sector employs 4.1 million people, which is one in every eight UK workers, ongoing labour and skills shortages are showing “little sign of improvement”.
The programme previously saw 150 food businesses collaborate with local Jobcentres across the UK to provide 30,000 young people with opportunities to develop skills for work.
In the past 10 years, IGD’s schools programme has also provided ‘skills for work’ training for over 133,000 young people, across a third of all UK secondary schools.
“Nearly a million young people are neither learning nor earning, they are the Gen Z NEETs [not in education, employment or training], and the number is growing,” said IGD social impact director Naomi Kissman.
“They face a ‘jobpocalypse’ and the nation faces a lost generation as living costs rise and entry-level employment opportunities dwindle.
“Meanwhile the food industry has its own quiet crisis brewing – workforce shortages and skills gaps mean as an industry that is relied on by everyone, every day, we risk affecting future availability and customer service.
“Addressing these challenges is not only a social imperative, but a commercial one – strengthening the future workforce on which our entire food system depends.”
Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts said: “Great jobs and brilliant people sit behind the good food we serve to our customers everyday but many young people today are struggling to get the experience they need to develop a fulfilling, vibrant career in our industry.
“Partnerships that open doors to opportunity, build skills and help people get real experience of roles across the food sector are essential to supporting future careers. We’re proud to be supporting the IGD’s Feeding Britian’s Future programme, to help young people gain the experience they need to thrive in careers across our food system.”
Morrisons people director Sarah Wilkinson said: “Grocery retail creates opportunities in diverse communities all across the country. Feeding Britain’s Future amplifies this by improving core employability skills, introducing people to careers within our industry earlier, and strengthening pathways into employment all across the sector.”
Major suppliers also commented in support of the programme.
“From manufacturing to marketing, our industry offers many meaningful careers,” said Greencore chief people officer Donna-Maria Lee. “That’s why we’re proud to support Feeding Britain’s Future: inspiring young people from all backgrounds to understand the skills employers need, explore the breadth of our industry, and see a future where they can belong, grow and succeed.”
CCEP people & culture VP Caroline Cater said: “It is crucial to widen the pool of people who may want to join the food and drink industry, it’s a vibrant sector with lots to offer at entry level whilst enabling interesting and rewarding careers.
“To make this happen we need to build future‑ready skills, and create clear pathways through high quality apprenticeships that combine training with real‑world experience. By working together as an industry, Feeding Britain’s Future helps address these priorities at scale and develop the talent pipeline and attraction that the industry urgently needs.”
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