An appetite for the future: FoodDrinkEurope and the European Federation of Food Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) launch youth apprenticeships pledge

FoodDrinkEurope, together with its social partner, the European  Federation of Food Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT), has launched an industry  pledge to encourage high quality apprenticeships and traineeships in food and drink  manufacturing companies across Europe.

This joint initiative was presented to MEPs at an  event in the European Parliament earlier today.  With this pledge, FoodDrinkEurope and EFFAT are aiming to respond to one of the greatest  challenges facing Europe today: a lack of skills and job opportunities. As Europe’s number  one employer in the manufacturing sector, the food and drink industry is prepared to play an  important role in meeting this challenge by addressing the employability of young people.

Specifically, the joint pledge, entitled ‘An appetite for the future: Youth apprenticeships in the  food and drink industry’ encourages food and drink manufacturers to:

- Provide high quality apprenticeship and traineeship positions;
- organize readiness for work programmes (career consultation, CV clinics, etc.) in  close co-ordination with educational institutions and youth organizations, and;
- share knowledge and experiences with education providers, authorities at all levels,  trade unions, business organizations (with a particular focus on small and medium  sized businesses) and youth associations.

The launch event was hosted by UK Socialist MEP Siôn Simon, a member of the  Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL), and featured a panel  discussion with a number of speakers including: VP Head of Corporate HR at Nestlé Europe  Alfredo Manuel Silva, high-level European Commission officials and a young Spanish  employee working at Cargill.

FoodDrinkEurope’s Director General Mella Frewen said: “Europe’s food and drink industry  is traditionally one of Europe’s most resilient and dynamic economic sectors, yet today we  face serious difficulties to recruit some of the skills we require in order to safeguard our  competitive edge. With this pledge, we want to encourage stronger connections between the  worlds of business and education; drive up qualifications and foster innovation. Ultimately,  we want to ensure a qualified and sustainable labour supply for our industry.”

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