Cargill, PepsiCo, Mars woo female engineers

09-Sep-2014 - Last updated on 10-Sep-2014 at 11:42 GMT

Coleshill: 'The skills agenda is a top priority'

The food industry is wooing female engineers in a partnership between food manufacturers Cargill, PepsiCo and Mars and youth skills initiative MyKindaCrowd.

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) announced the collaboration yesterday (September 9). As part of the initiative, the firms aim to arrange factory visits with practical challenges for female students to get a first-hand taste of the food and drink industry.

Year 12 female students with A-Level STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects will be able to take on sector-related tasks and challenges at company-led workshops through the visits.

Organisers hope students will take away an understanding of how their STEM subjects can contribute to a career in food and drink manufacturing and offer them networking opportunities.

‘Dynamic career opportunities’

“FDF is really excited to be working with MyKindaCrowd to help showcase the huge range of dynamic engineering career opportunities for women in food and drink manufacturing,” said Angela Coleshill, FDF director of employment and skills.

“The skills agenda is a top priority for our industry and we are proud that our members continue to support careers initiatives such as the MyKindaCrowd engineering visits to ensure a solid succession plan for employment in our sector.”

A core aim of the collaboration was to raise awareness for the industry-backed MEng Food Engineering degree at Sheffield Hallam University and FDF’s Women into STEM pledge as part of the YourLife campaign, said Coleshill. That campaign encourages women to pursue science or engineering careers in food and drink.

‘Thrilled’

William Akerman, founder and md of MyKindaCrowd, said: “We're thrilled to be working with FDF to highlight the great range of career opportunities available for women in the food and drink industry.

“The food and drink industry is doing great work in supporting our mission and the YourLife campaign, by working to ensure the work place is equal for all, and educating and highlighting the options out there.

“I hope the success of this campaign inspires other manufacturers to actively promote the industry and encourage more females to join this exciting industry.”

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