As the clock counts down to the start of Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight, businesses across the country are showing an appetite to celebrate Scotland’s strong production industry.
From August 31st until September 15th they will be showcasing their wares and helping promote the growing consumer demand for homegrown food and drink – in a sector that’s estimated will be worth £30 billion by the year 2030.
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Scotland’s food and drink output has already increased by 78% since 2007 and last year exports reached a record level of £6.3 billion.
It’s now one of the best performing sectors of the entire economy and shows no signs of slowing down as more customers savour the flavour of Scottish produce from shops and menus.
The Scottish Government is also doing its bit to boost business by outlining a new five-year initiative that forms the second phase of its Scotland Food and Drink Export Plan.
Around £4.5 million of joint funding from the Government, industry and Scottish Development International will help companies take their products into existing and new markets. Meanwhile, ‘in-market specialists’ will be employed to offer expert business advice, create stronger links with potential buyers and encourage Scottish businesses to develop exciting new products.
James Withers, Chief Executive of Food Drink Scotland, says: “Food and drink has become Scotland’s biggest export and yet there are still huge opportunities still in front of us. From Tokyo to Toronto, there is growing demand for world-class products with a strong provenance story and on that front Scotland can compete with anywhere in the world.”
Scotland has almost 19,000 food and drink businesses, employing more than 115,000 people and, just as the Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight looks to encourage more people to buy, eat and promote products so the opportunities to work in their creation also grow.
Production operatives, in particular, are needed to process a huge range of drink and foodstuffs – including meat, whisky, seafood, dairy produce, gin and specialist beers – both for domestic consumption and export around the world.
If you want to work on a fast-paced production line and make sure every order is finished on time with the highest quality guaranteed, you’ll need an eye for detail.
Reliability and the ability to be flexible are also important because shift work often includes a mix of daytime hours and night shifts.
In such a competitive environment it’s not unusual to find yourself moving very quickly from the shop floor into management and, sometimes, all the way to the boardroom.
Production operatives who gain experience on the factory floor can also find themselves as candidates for the roles of hygiene operator and quality control administrator – or even work their way up to the job of quality control manger.
An important part of these roles is ensuring products not only satisfy consumers but also meet all of their legal requirements, including rules that maintain hygiene, health and safety.
Keep in mind, too, it’s not just about what goes out the factory but what comes in: quality control begins by inspecting raw materials and ingredients.
This is a job for the meticulous and methodical mind that can collect evidence based on the tiniest of details, ensure all of the data on every batch of goods is 100% accurate and confirm all of the legal certifications are up to date.
Finally, when the goods are ready to go, packaging production operators and logistics specialists prepare the deliveries to be safely shipped off, everywhere from John o’ Groats to Johannesburg.
Bottling hall operatives, meanwhile, oversee the bottling process for a range of quintessentially Scottish goods, including whisky, beer, rum and gin.
There are more than 8,500 workers employed in Scotland’s brewing industry and a Modern Apprenticeship in brewing – commissioned by Skills Development Scotland – is being developed by the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink, industry body Scotland Food & Drink and a range of brewers.
If you’re more technically minded, as a maintenance engineer you literally keep the wheels of the industry turning, while as an IT expert you will be instrumental in developing and monitoring new software to speed up production processes and promote greater efficiency.
Being able to assist in implementing state-of-the-art, connected technology not only future proofs a business, it helps attract new generations of skilled workers.
In this way technology, automation and AI are actually creating career opportunities – especially as the number of ‘fully connected factories’ is expected to double by 2022.
Managers, too, recognise that upskilling staff in new technology improves their operations and creates the next generation of management superstars.
If the prospect of Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight has given you an appetite for a new career, export yourself to s1jobs where you can find a whole menu of roles.