The Association of Labour Providers (ALP) recently ran a survey to get a clearer picture of the most pressing challenge currently faced by the food industry. Namely, the impact of labour shortages across the UK’s food supply chain.
The study found that 99% of labour providers were unable to meet their food industry clients’ labour requirements during summer 2021. Meanwhile, 85% of food growers and manufacturers are experiencing shortages of lower and unskilled workers. The effect of this labour shortage is being felt by practically everyone, as supermarket shelves have seen multiple gaps over the last few months.
ALP also offered insight into recruitment efforts, with a staggering 86% of labour providers saying that the Jobcentre was of no help in finding new workers and only 3% found government employment support schemes helpful. This has led to 52% of food growers and manufacturers expecting to reduce their output, with 16% fearing that their business may become unviable due to the acute labour shortage.
David Camp, ALP Chief Executive, said: “The blunt fact is that we need tens of thousands more ‘Food Heroes’ to keep the nation fed and to increase UK production in order to maintain national food security and reduce the environmental impact of food imports… We need to see collaborative action now to solve immediate shortages and to develop a coherent longer term food industry workforce and skills strategy.”
The labour shortage is a result of the Covid-19 pandemic combined with the new immigration laws following the UK’s exit from the EU. In order to remain productive and profitable, it is crucial that food manufacturing companies access the right kind of labour providers and work with them to form an effective recruitment plan. This will include a strong retention strategy that improves worker engagement and encourages loyalty.
Prestige Recruitment is dedicated to supporting businesses in the food industry and helping them to not only attract new workers but also retain existing employees. Constantly having to source new workers due to a high turnover is an inefficient, time-consuming and stressful process, so we’re here to help you secure the right people and keep your day-to-day operations running smoothly.
By partnering with Prestige Recruitment, you gain a recruitment specialist that knows how to find the right people for the right roles at the right time. This personalised and meticulous approach ensures that food manufacturing businesses are recruiting new workers in a professional, timely and compliant manner.
Get in touch
For tailored advice and support in regard to staffing and recruitment, please call your closest branch or get in touch through our contact form.