Fancy a career in food? ... You can with the gingerbread man

"Run, run as fast as you can ... " We all know how the rest goes, but unfortunately for the industry, it seems young people aren't running as fast as they can into a career in food and drink, which is where Dunkan the gingerbread man comes in.

Whether it's young school leavers or adults looking for a career change, food and drink sector skills council Improve believes that despite the apparent lack of interest, there are people out there looking for information on a career in food and drink who are struggling to find it.

So it came up with the idea of a virtual careers advisor (named Dunkan following an in-house competition), which it hopes will overcome this problem and provide access to the right information.

"The concept of a virtual personality was the closest we could realistically get to the ideal scenario, which is to give advice and information on a one-to-one basis," explains Sue Fairest, skills development manager at Improve.

"We wanted to make finding out about careers and training on the internet more interactive. Rather than having to trawl through pages of information trying to find what you're looking for, you can ask Dunkan very specific questions," she says.

And for those who are not sure what they are looking for, Dunkan will ask a series of yes or no questions before suggesting an area of interest he thinks might suit them best. And in a firm, but fun way, Dunkan will guide anyone going off on a tangent with their questions back to the subject in hand.

But why the gingerbread man? After all, it isn't the first concept that springs to mind. "We really wanted to get away from the teacher scenario," explains Fairest. "We wanted a personality and our research on the gingerbread man, with its links to bakery, got a good response."

Dunkan is primarily aimed at the younger generation, but is not too childish for adults. Although he offers lots of fun elements, he points the way to some important and serious information, says Fairest. "He's targeted at everyone interested in working in food and drink manufacturing - from school leavers to adults wanting a change of career, and existing employees who want to explore different job opportunities within the sector."

He is connected to an enormous database of information, with links through the Improve website to course information and other associations.

So far the response has been encourag-ing, says Fairest, with over 700 hits in the first week. And, in time, a more detailed breakdown of who is using Dunkan will become available.

But for now, Improve is hoping a promotional campaign covering universities, skills brokers and careers advisors will keep Dunkan very much on his toes.