Work Placement Food & Drink Jobs

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All you need to know about the food and drink industry

Over half a million people in the UK work within the food and drink industry with many roles across processing, production and distribution. Have you ever thought of the full process of getting a product from ‘farm to fork', as it is commonly referred to in the industry?

Food and drink is an incredibly valuable sector within the UK and a key pillar in the manufacturing industry. The industry has a much wider range of roles available than initially spring to mind. It relies on creative scientists to come up with new and delicious foods, potentially farmers to grow the food, manufacturing managers who control production, then the marketing, sales and logistics to tie everything together.

You can work within food and drink through most typical business roles too, such as HR, finance, quality control and management. No matter what your skillset is, you will be able to find a role to suit you within this industry and there are many routes in.

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FAQs

FAQs

Skills & interests required for a career in Food & drink

To give you the edge when securing a work placement, read up on the industry and make yourself aware of any changes. The food and drink industry is heavily regulated and any changes in policies can mean manufacturers have to make drastic changes.

In order to progress up the career ladder in this industry, you will need a lot of self-discipline and proactivity especially to get the relevant further certificates and qualifications. This applies across the board no matter what area you are working in.

Some other key skills that will help you in this industry are:

What Food & drink work experience do you need?

Any work on farms or in warehouses will help you if you're trying to start a career in the production side of food and drink.

If you have your sights set on a position that would be head-office based, like HR, try e-mailing any local food and drink businesses asking if you can shadow a worker.

Food and drink will often require you to work in teams to ensure the smooth running of projects. The industry as a whole is reliant upon different teams collaborating and working together, so good communication skills and any work experience that helps you develop this will be beneficial.