Out of all of the industries currently working to keep the UK economy ticking over, the food and drink industry has to be one of the most valuable contributors. There will always be a need for food and drink companies and businesses, and there are thousands of food jobs available.

But why get one? Well, apart from the availability of food jobs and the success of the industry, there are also factors such as job satisfaction, a plethora of opportunities for career progression, financial rewards and many other benefits available to persuade you.

Facts and figures

Every year, the food and drink industry in the UK generates a turnover of approximately £77.4 billion, and over 460,000 people are employed in food jobs. What's more, due to the continuing growth of the industry and increasing demand for food supplies, it is estimated that the sector will need 137,000 new employees by the year 2017, so there are bound to be lots of opportunities available in a diverse variety of fields.

The following are just a few examples of the types of trained and skilled new recruits the country will need:

• Machine operators
• Managers
• Skilled craftsmen
• Technical operators

From this, you should be able to see that food jobs are not simply about selling or serving food. There is a fascinating world going on behind the scenes in food production and manufacturing, and people with the specialist qualifications and skills to fill these roles will be indispensible to the food industry in the future.

For graduates or those looking for food jobs in manufacturing, apprenticeship courses can be extremely beneficial. They encourage you to undertake on-the-job training, make valuable industry contacts, and provide you with a way into your chosen field. Food manufacturing is a wide and varied industry, but specialised apprenticeships are adaptable enough to provide you with the relevant skills for your chosen area.

Benefits for apprentices

• You can get a recognised qualification and learn valuable skills whilst still earning money

• You will be able to choose from a wide variety of different roles and sectors, and have your apprenticeship tailored to allow you to meet job-specific requirements

• The apprenticeship courses are flexible with regards to which style of learning you prefer - off-the-job classroom learning or practical, hands-on experience

• Excellent opportunities for career progression, as you can complete and move through levels. This means that in the future, you will be set to make more money from your chosen food job due to more advanced levels of training.

Benefits for employers

Food job employers also benefit from taking on apprentices. They not only receive recognition and funding for offering apprenticeships, but they also benefit from a more skilled, trained and educated workforce.

In response to concerns raised over the future of food manufacture in the UK, highlighted at the Oxford Farming Conference recently, the University of Lincoln has launched two new specialist food courses. Pupils hoping to go into food jobs will now be able to choose a specialty thanks to the new BSc (Hons) in Food Manufacture and BSc (Hons) in Agriculture and Environmental Management.

The Principal Lecturer at the University of Lincoln, David Stainton, explained the introduction of these courses. He believes that the concerns raised at the recent national conference over whether Britain will be able to produce enough food to feed the growing population in the future are well-founded, and that there is a very real need for highly skilled, trained and technical graduates in the fields of Agriculture and Food Manufacture.

BSc (Hons) Agriculture and Environmental Management
The university devised this new programme after recognising a gap in the sector when it comes to skills and specialist education. Rapid technological developments also mean that those in food jobs in the future will need to be highly skilled, with a detailed understanding of plant, animal and soils science.

BSc (Hons) Food Manufacture
This course is designed to feed graduates directly into the food supply chain, giving them a thorough understanding of both advanced and sustainable manufacturing operations.

If you are passionate about food and want a career in the food industry, then graduate training schemes are the perfect way to get ahead. And in today's difficult job market, standing out from other applicants is more important than ever.

Graduate training schemes are the next step up from higher education training courses, as they provide you with hands-on experience in a particular food job, where you learn everything about your chosen industry whilst accumulating valuable skills and experience. So, if you have just finished your university course and are looking for a way into the food industry, there are training schemes available to you in the following areas:

• Product development - developing new recipes, equipment and techniques
• Food technology -the scientific and technical aspects of food manufacturing
• Finance - overseeing accounts and finances of the business to ensure operations run smoothly
• Quality control - ensuring that all products and practices meet the highest regulations and standards

Besides these, there are many other areas you can work in. Graduate training schemes also allow you to work in a variety of environments and make any number of valuable contacts, but the main advantage is that they are often fast-track schemes. This means that completing these training programs may mean that you are eligible for higher-level food jobs than if you started at ground level and worked your way up. For anyone interested in a food job, graduate training schemes are definitely worth considering.

In terms of food jobs, upskilling is an expression used to describe a person's progression up the career ladder, gaining valuable skills, experience and knowledge as they do so. This means that once you've entered the food industry and got yourself a food job, the opportunities available are endless.

There are many examples of people who have started work in the food industry at ground level, and have gone on to achieve high-ranking positions within their particular field. Within the timespan of a number of years, cashiers at supermarkets go on to become store managers, waiters in restaurants may become general managers or even executive chefs, and with the right training, a laboratory assistant in a food development facility may even end up as a specialist in food technology.

The food industry is unlike any other sector in the UK today in that there is so much room for progression, and despite the current global recession, the industry is doing well and actually expanding. There are a large number of areas to work within, and there are apparently one in four food jobs permanently vacant, particularly in the areas of food science and manufacturing engineering.

There are more higher education courses and many other types of training programmes available now than ever before, so there are countless ways for you to upskill and continue on up the career ladder.

If you have recently completed a management-related degree, have experience in a management role, or both - a management job in the food industry could be perfect for you. Only a small number of applicants are qualified for these kinds of food jobs, so your valuable skills, experience and qualifications could really make you stand out from the rest.

Most successful managers have a two or four year degree in a food or hospitality related subject, or lengthy experience in a relevant role. However, in order run smoothly, the food industry depends on a number of other skill sectors. As you will see when you read on, this means that your particular management qualification of experience could be extremely valuable to the food industry.

Here are a few examples of the types of management roles available:

• General manager
• Service manager
• Commercial manager
• Purchasing manager
• Quality assurance manager
• Technical manager

As well as these, there are many other opportunities available in this fast-paced and exciting industry, and there is excellent potential for career progression.

If you have recently graduated, you may be struggling with how to get started in a particular industry. If this is the case, then a work experience placement or apprenticeship could really help you to gain the valuable skills, experience and contacts you need to succeed.

For a career in the food industry, relevant qualifications are sometimes required but experience is always essential. Getting a placement at a major food manufacturer, retailer or restaurant chain can be a fantastic way of gaining real-life experience of an actual food job. Big food companies such as Heinz, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, McDonald's, Mars, Morrison's, Sainsbury's and Tesco all regularly employ graduates, so there are loads of opportunities out there!

So, if you have a passion for food or for a particular aspect of the food industry, the following industry fields are open to you:

• Produce and product sourcing
• Product development
• Distribution
• Sales and marketing
• Finance
• Engineering and manufacturing

These and many more opportunities are available if you choose a career in the ever-growing food industry.

How do I get a food job?

Having food-related work background will always give you an advantage, as will a relevant degree, HND or any other postgraduate qualification, but many employees are also willing to offer placements to those demonstrating a sufficient passion and enthusiasm for food.

Thousands of graduate jobs are being created in the UK's food production sector as it seeks to replace its ageing workforce.

This is according to Jack Matthews of Improve, the food and drink sector's skills council, who told the Daily Mirror that employers in the industry are "crying out for ambitious recruits".

"The food and drink industry has shown it is resilient to the recession as people will always need to eat, so there are plenty of career paths offering great opportunities for progression," he explained.

The industry was one of the few to actually increase exports in the first six months of the year. Exports of food and non-alcoholic drinks were up 10.2% to £4.82bn according to new research commissioned by the Food and Drink Federation.

According to the newspaper, there are more than 10,000 food production jobs available at any one time, with a number of varied and specialised vacancies that need filling.

There are opportunities to specialise in a particular skill, meaning that the opportunities for graduate recruitment are numerous.

Jobs range from those in manufacturing, food production and product development to food technology, purchasing and sales and marketing.

Opportunities also exist in smaller firms, which often concentrate on the development of specialist products.

A recent study by Improve predicts that by 2017 the UK's food and drink industry will need to recruit 72,000 new workers to fill technical management, professional and skilled roles, including food scientists and technologists. Mr Matthews said that many people simply did not realise the levels of rewards and security available for skilled workers in the industry.

"Food scientists or technologists, for example, can work in a number of different roles. These are the people who develop low-fat chocolate bars, sweets with no artificial additives and help keep the price of food down by developing more cost-effective recipes for popular foods. They are exciting roles to have, and those who reach the top level can command salaries in excess of £50,000."

With that in mind, this is also an ideal opportunity for people leaving school in 2010 to secure a place on one of the many food related degree courses on offer.

Do you graduate in 2010? It may seem a while off; in fact, it probably is. However major players in the food industry don't seem to think so. Due to many of the blue chip food manufacturers putting all their graduate recruitment on hold in 2008 and 2009, they seem to be planning ahead for a 2010 intake. So although you may not graduate for over a year, and are certainly not looking for any post-grad employment for the next 18 months, this does not mean that many companies will not be looking for you.

This method of proactive search not only means that graduates can secure places early and get the type of graduate scheme they desire, it also could be considered in some opinions to be giving clients access to the more 'on-the-ball' graduates, who are also proactive in their searching - maybe due to their hard-working nature or their desire to take advantage of the best opportunities available to them, these graduates will get their grad schemes sorted before many of the 'I'll-do-it-tomorrow' grads even start looking.

Not only this, graduates of 2010 will not just be competing against other students graduating that year, but also against the 300,000 students who graduated in 2009, many of which will be eager to secure graduate schemes after facing the industry-wide graduate recruitment freeze in 2008/09.

What this says for the food industry? On the one hand it may suggest that the larger food companies have adjusted to the current economic conditions and are now able to take on new employees. However on the other hand it may imply that these same companies anticipate a more productive and profitable 2011 and thus are planning accordingly - otherwise, they wouldn't be taking on graduates, right?

We are all aware that the current economic climate is far from its best; it has been for some time and is unlikely to improve in the immediate future. As well as many senior level and junior level employees losing their jobs as a result of the 'credit crunch', students who stand to graduate in summer 2009 are finding it increasingly harder to find a graduate scheme that is running this year. Heinz and Bakkavor, to name but a few, have put their graduate roles on hold for the foreseeable future.

This is not the first time that graduates have been struggling to find jobs after finishing University. In 2001, a report on the Times Higher Education website stated that 1 in 5 out of 66 surveyed companies (that were registered as members of the Association of Graduate Recruiters) said they had deferred graduate roles for an average of 12 months, while 1 in 10 had withdrawn offers already made to graduates. Here in January 2009, the situation is undoubtedly worse, as graduates will be struggling to find jobs in any area, never mind one that will utilise the skills they have been taught throughout their degree.

However, it is not all doom and gloom for graduates. Aldi have announced they are looking to take on Graduate Area Managers with a starting salary of £40k, rising to £57,750 after 3 years, and have also thrown in a fully expensed Audi A4. Not bad for a graduate salary!

As someone who is on industrial placement at the moment, with about 18 months until I'm due to graduate, I personally will be looking to stay in education for as long as possible, and avoid looking for graduate schemes or alternative employment for as long as possible. That will include the possibility of either a Masters, travelling after graduation, or a more appealing option (to me) of securing employment for 6, 12 or even 18 months in a foreign country.

I can only wish the 300,000 students due to graduate in June 2009 the best of luck in fighting for the recently-government-backed graduate roles at Barclays and Microsoft (BBC Website, Intern plan to ease graduate woes), and hope that the economic climate has improved by June 2010 when I'm due to graduate.