Scottish Food and Drink Ambassadors
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Finding the right people and skills is a key enabler for the success of the food & drink industry. This is highlighted in the 2023 Sustaining Scotland, Supplying the world industry strategy.
The aim of the Scottish Food and Drink scheme is to use the skills and knowledge of people working in the industry to inspire and encourage young people to see the career opportunities on offer. In particular, illuminating careers and raising aspirations by working with a wide range of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related jobs.
What will I be doing?
As an Ambassador you will bring the sector to life talking about everyday experiences at careers events, classroom lessons, site visit, STEM-focused events and workshops for teachers and career influencers. With your help, young people will understand how skills and qualifications in subjects such as sciences, technology, maths, IT and technology, as well as many others, are required for careers in Food and Drink.
Ambassadors can decide the amount of time they spend on activities, the age group they would like to work with, the types of activities they would like to be involved with and how they engage with young people, such as using online platforms or in person.
Benefits
engaging directly with your local community to raise awareness of your business
supporting your future talent pipeline and recruitment
providing direct support to STEM teachers to make connections between subjects and the skills required by employers
providing specific and sectoral careers information to young people and their influencers
developing your own skills – building confidence, improved planning & communication skills
Access to a wider network of other people who are passionate about the development of the industry, giving the opportunity to share ideas, experiences, and resources
promoting apprentice roles directly to schools and colleges
making food & drink a career destination of choice
Why should you become a Scottish Food and Drink Ambassador?
We know that there are already great Ambassadors out there working directly with schools but until now, we didn’t know which employers are working with what schools, or where they were.
Through this scheme, FDF Scotland, on behalf of the Scotland Food and Drink Partnership, can collectively capture all the great work being done and the impact it is having across the country. It can also help better identify the gaps, either geographically or by employers where additional support is required.
Being a member of the Scheme also means we can make sure that those working in our sector have the support materials they need in order to deliver activity and consistently showcase the wide range of opportunities within food and drink. It also provides a best practice network for the Ambassadors to share ideas and resources.
Get started
When you become a Food and Drink Ambassador you join the STEM Ambassador Programme as a member of the Scottish Food and Drink Ambassador scheme.
When you join you will be allocated to your regional STEM Ambassador Hub who will give you the information you need to complete the online induction and to join the PVG Scheme.
Checkout this infographic to help you get started.