Great Britain: a passport to facilitate recruitment in the food industry

On 05 September the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink (NSAFD) together with the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) unveiled the launch of a Food and Drink Careers Passport to help people acquire the basic skills needed to start a career in the food and drink industry. Designed for job seekers, who can, under certain conditions, benefit from it free of charge, this passport can also be given by companies. Designed and developed by the sector, it provides for a comprehensive and 100% online training course that will result in a final diploma. Afterwards, passport holders enjoy a faster recruitment process. From the business perspective, companies will be able to rely on this system to better identify new talent. “Our sector faces challenging labour shortages, across a wide range of roles at every level. The Careers Passport is an essential part of the solution, building a pipeline of homegrown talent that will benefit our industry for years to come,” said FDF Chief Executive, Karen Betts. This passport “represents a step change in how the industry is opening its doors to eager new talent. It’s positive proof that Passport holders have made a choice to seek a career in food and drink,” added Louise Cairns, NSAFD Chief Executive. Currently, 57 companies are voluntarily supporting the Food and Drink Careers Passport, including Bimbo, Brioche Pasquier, Coca Cola and Mars.