Thousands of food industry workers to be offered new training and job opportunities

Workers who have lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19 are being offered new employment and training opportunities under an initiative launched by the UK’s largest recruitment company, Staffline and PeoplePlus, the UK’s leading independent adult training provider.

As the supermarkets move to recruit tens of thousands of workers in their efforts to keep shelves stocked and ‘feed the nation’, the new #Feedthenation worker transition service has placed 8,000 people in its first two weeks, many of whom would have faced severe financial hardship without new work.

The service is providing vital support to thousands of families each week as well as adding resilience into supermarket supply chains and providing on-going support to major partners such as Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons and Ocado and food supply companies such as Hovis and 2Sisters, as they scale up to meet the huge level of demand placed upon them. 

The campaign has been supported by industry associations across the hospitality and retail sectors as an initiative that is providing vital support to their workers whose jobs have been badly impacted as a result of coronavirus.  

Simon Rouse, Group Managing Director of PeoplePlus, said:

“The response to Feed the Nation has been extraordinary. We’ve put thousands of people into supermarkets and food manufacturing centres in a matter of days. Many have lost their jobs because of Covid-19 and faced financial insecurity. Instead, they’re supporting their communities, helping to reassure the public that there is plenty of stock on supermarket shelves and reducing the likelihood of panic buying. 

“Our teams are working tirelessly to get applicants into training, intojobs, providing much needed support. Whilst there is a lot of work still to do, we’re delighted that thousands of people aren’t being left without the ability to earn an income.”

Frank Atkinson, Chief Operating Officer of Staffline, said:

“Our aim when launching Feed the Nation was to help supermarkets meet consumer demands, reassure the public and support those hardest hit by the economic impact of Covid-19. The number of applications we’re seeing shows that the British workforce is stepping up to meet the challenge. We’re committed to helping those in need of work at this difficult time.”