The food and drink industry in the UK is a vast and incredibly diverse sector. Every one of the millions of food and drink products that we see in supermarkets, in our homes and advertised on our TV is a product of a food and drink manufacturer that takes what is grown on farms and turns it into what we buy from retailers.
There are around 6,500 food and drink manufacturers in the UK and most of them employ between 100 and 250 people. In the North East alone, the food and drink industry has over 1,500 organisations which employ 45,000 people and produce an annual turnover of £3.5bn, so there is virtually every type of role you can imagine within the industry.
Some employers will specialise in one area such as food processing, freezing, baking or brewing whereas others may specialise in several areas. Some work is seasonal depending on harvest and crop cycles and some work is all year round.
Although there are thousands of different types of roles within the food and drink industry there are some key roles which play a big part in the industry such as packing operatives, nutritionists, dieticians and food technologists.
Also, in such a big industry sector, the opportunities for promotion and career progression are very good and many companies in the industry encourage internal promotion. There are often lots of opportunities for supervisory and management positions.