Atkinson Page, part of the gap Personnel Group, is experiencing a growth in demand for candidates with transferable skills to meet the FMCG sector’s continual drive toward technology-led operations.
The Leeds-based practice, which places permanent and interim professionals across a range of food sector and FMCG roles, has seen a 20 percent increase in companies taking candidates from alternative industries, which suggests the combination of an ageing workforce and existing skills gaps is putting pressure on the pace of the sector’s focus on innovation.
Currently, there are in the region of 400,000 people employed in the sector, which is set to grow due to a forecast requirement for an additional 45,000 new management and professional workers by 2017.
However, graduate development and apprenticeship programmes are yet to meet the recruitment requirements of the industry, which is leading to a need to attract a more diverse candidate pool with complementary skills.
Disciplines such as engineering, quality assurance, production management, process engineers and line operations are prevalent across a range of sectors including automotive, offshore energy and the chemical sector.
As a result, the FMCG sector, which is seen as one of the UK’s growth manufacturing sectors, is becoming an increasingly popular destination for professionals with transferable skills.
Karen Johnson, Operations Director at Atkinson Page, said: “Innovation within the FMCG sector and its adoption of technology is gaining momentum, which means taking a lateral approach to addressing skills challenges. The sector is making strides in attracting younger people into FMCG, but its existing aging workforce means there are short term gaps, which need addressing.
“While there are some unique and specialised skills in the food and FMCG industries, there are also some very complementary competencies, which can be applied to the sector, that are held by experienced professionals in other markets. They are seeing the opportunities from joining the fast-moving and growing FMCG sector and looking to apply their skills to a variety of roles across the industry.”