School leavers get taste for food and consumer goods industry through virtual work experience programme

School leavers were given a taste of working life in food and consumer goods last month, thanks to a week-long virtual work experience programme created by IGD.

A total of 23 industry professionals from 14 major brands came together to deliver several learning workshops to increase youngsters skills and employability chances.

IGD was inspired to set up the online event following several reports that young people are set to be amongst the worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Sarah McCarthy, IGD’s employability programmes manager, said: “Progression plans for young people leaving school this summer have been disrupted by the pandemic, leaving them feeling uncertain about what’s next.

“We also know that the number of 18-24-year-olds not in education, employment or training could surge higher than the 2009 financial crisis.

“As the UK’s largest private sector employer, the food and consumer goods industry recognises that it has a responsibility to help young people and support our communities in these challenging times; and we also have a great story to tell them about the exciting range of skilled careers available in FMCG.

“IGD already has a strong heritage in helping young people develop the skills they need in the workplace this summer.

“We also wanted to respond to the immediate needs of Year 13s, most of whom haven’t had access to the careers advice or traditional work experience programmes they usually would.”

Some 80 school leavers participated in the week-long virtual event, taking part in a whole range of interactive live workshops and hands-on projects.

Participants were able to select individual masterclasses in areas that interested them, including marketing and sales, engineering, IT and digital.

Feedback back revealed that 97% of participants felt that IGD’s programme helped them to develop their understanding of the skills used in the world of work.

Sarah McCarthy added: “The Summer Programme was the pilot of an industry-wide, virtual work experience model and we are thrilled with the results.

“We will now be exploring how we can work collaboratively with our industry to deliver this programme at scale, to support young people as we head into a challenging recession and a jobs market which will come under increasingly intense pressure.”