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Bringing military precision to food engineering

24 June 2022

Gareth Whyatt believes that, in the short-term, ex-military engineers could be the answer to the ongoing engineering skills shortage. 

There can be no denying that the food manufacturing sector is facing a personnel shortage of severe magnitude. Factors that stem from Brexit and Covid-19 have largely been the reason for the lack of staff up and down the supply chain – from drivers to warehouse workers – but there is a wider issue at play that is now resulting in a serious shortage of skilled engineers and new talent across the food production industry. 

Why? The industry is undeniably outdated when compared to other manufacturing sectors and is also considered to be less appealing. Engineers in the sector are often paid less than their counterparts in, say, the aerospace industry. It could also be argued that career progression, or lack of, is also turning people off. Is the industry trailing behind when it comes to inclusivity? We’ve been discussing women in engineering for years now, but what has changed?

Manufacturing is often overlooked when it comes to early years education too, a survey undertaken in 2020 by Engineering UK found that almost 50% of 11-19 year olds said they knew little or nothing about what engineers do and the number of students entering technology subjects at first degree level has decreased by 61.4% in the past 10 years.

A bleak landscape
This was a survey of engineering as a whole – the landscape would be much bleaker if the survey were to double down on engineering in the food manufacturing sector. There is much more education required when it comes to the journey from farm to fork in general.

I’m not saying that apprenticeships aren’t having a positive impact – but it’s not enough. Our industry is important – and its profile must be raised to secure its future. 

Another report – from Engineering UK – says that by 2025 there will be a shortage throughout the whole of the UK job market of 1.8 million engineers and people with technical qualifications. That’s a figure that should cause concern – we saw the widespread disruption that the pandemic bestowed upon the UK food manufacturing sector, and the ripple effect this had in the retail environment.

It was experienced engineers that were absolutely critical in keeping the sector moving in the most stressful of times. However, it is these same engineers that are either at or nearing retirement age – leaving a talent void in their wake. In 2014, the average age of an engineer was 54 – fast forward to today and we’re not just teetering over the edge of the ‘retirement cliff’, we are moments away from free falling into engineering disaster. We are already in the danger zone.

So, what can we do? We must address the root cause of the lack of entry to the sector in the long term, but in all honesty - the skills shortage is a here-and-now problem.

Right now, it is my belief that we should be utilising the skills and experience of ex-military engineers, individuals that are in the process of, or who have left the forces. 

Trained to the highest of standards, bringing diligence and expertise, I believe that ex-forces engineers are the much-needed answer to the food industry’s skills shortage. In our experience recruiting for food manufacturing and FMCG businesses, ex-military engineers are among the highest quality candidates we work with, transferring their military values, ethos, integrity, service experience and skills excellence. 

We know the businesses we work with incredibly well – we know the type of person that fits their workplace, the skills they need and the benefits they offer in return.

There is bias around ex-military that needs to be erased – these could well be the individuals that are going to help keep the food industry afloat.

Gareth Whyatt is co-founder at The Sterling Choice.


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