Minister launches grocery initiative to support unemployed young people
Minister Burton has launched ‘Feeding Ireland's Future' - an initiative by the Irish food and grocery industry to provide free pre-employment skills for young people
Print20 January 2014
At the launch of Feeding Ireland’s Future, an initiative by the Irish food and grocery industry to help support young unemployed people, at the offices of PwC were: Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton; Declan Carolan, general manager, ECR Ireland and Jill Ross, managing director, Unilever Ireland
The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton launched ‘Feeding Ireland’s Future’, an initiative by the Irish food and grocery industry to help support young unemployed people, at the offices of PwC on Frdiday (17 January). It will involve food and grocery companies and service providers to the sector throughout Ireland providing free pre-employment skills for young people during a designated ‘Skills for Work Week’ in March this year.
The initiative is being promoted by ECR Ireland, with the support of its members, in partnership with the Department of Social Protection through its Intreo service. According to the latest Live Register figures, the percentage of young people on the live register in December 2013 was 15%. Whilst this is down from 17.1% in December 2011, responding to this situation is a key priority for the government.
Speaking at the launch the minister said: "The skills mix of young people seeking jobs is vast. We need to offer a diversity of options for young jobseekers because they are not an homogenous group. We have young people with significant qualifications but who lack work experience and others who left school early and have few if any qualifications but who may possess an aptitude which would be of immense benefit to any employer. Their needs are very different and we have to provide for this diversity of needs. This Initiative is a key component in meeting those needs.
"I want to extend my appreciation to each of the employers and companies supporting this initiative for their commitment to Feeding Ireland’s Future through providing their time and expertise, and that of their organisation to help young jobseekers maximise their opportunities. I am confident that this initiative will be a huge success."
Over the course of the next month, the Department of Social Protection will be contacting young people who would benefit from this unique opportunity. This opportunity will enhance their employability skills through benefiting from the expertise and advice of employers in their locality.
The ‘Feeding Ireland’s Future’ initiative is being led by two board members of ECR Ireland, Jill Ross, managing director of Unilever Ireland and David O’Neill, managing director of SHS Sales & Marketing.
Jill Ross commented that, as one of the country’s largest private sector employers, the food and grocery industry was well placed to support young people in the transition from education to employment.
"Feeding Ireland’s Future will give young people in Ireland a much better insight into the vast range of career opportunities available in our industry. Today’s young people are tomorrow’s workforce so investing in and inspiring our young people is critical for our sustained business success. Our approach is based on a similar campaign in the UK which has proved to be very effective. What started as a pilot week in 2012 has developed into an annual Skills for Work Month involving 190 companies providing free training opportunities at 1,200 locations. Based on the support we have received so far, we are confident that Feeding Ireland’s Future will become a major industry initiative in which most retailers, suppliers and service providers will want to participate" she said.
Companies already signed up for Feeding Ireland’s Future include some of Ireland’s leading names in the grocery industry. Retailers such as Tesco and the Musgrave Group along with fuel and convenience operators the Maxol Group and Topaz Energy are all involved to date.
On the food side manufacturers and suppliers including Cuisine de France, J&J, Keelings, Kelloggs, Kerry Foods, Mars, Mondelez, Nestle, P&G, SHS Sales & Marketing and Unilever will open their doors to give young unemployed people first-hand experience of the workings of production and marketing. Furthermore, logistics companies such as the PRL Group and Pulse Logistics are also signed-up. See full list of participating companies below.
The companies will provide a range of initiatives including free on-site skills workshops and site visits for young people at locations across Ireland during Skills for Work Week, which will run from Monday 3 to Friday 7 March 2014. The focus will be on developing pre-employment skills and will include advice on CVs, interview training and behind the scenes tours of factories, depots and offices.
Declan Carolan, general manager, ECR Ireland called on as many companies as possible to participate and offer some pre-employment training initiatives during March 2014. ECR member companies interested in participating in Feeding Ireland’s Future should contact: declancarolan@ecrireland.ie or telephone 087 235 2148.
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