Students from local schools across the North West received an exclusive insight into food engineering careers during a visit to Coca-Cola Enterprises’ Morpeth site.
Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) opened its factory doors to A-Level and foundation year students from Sheffield Hallam University, Abbey Gate College in Chester, and King Edward VI High School in Morpeth for an engineering workshop, supported by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF)
The students – who had previously expressed interest in careers in food and drink – were put to test by the company’s engineers.
The pupils were also taken on a factory tour during which they experienced the day-to-day workings of various production lines.
Finally, students heard from a Sheffield Hallam University representative about the food engineering courses on offer.
Education programme manager at CCE, Gina Solimeno commented: “As a local manufacturer, we are committed to supporting the skills development and learning needs of young people, to inspire the next generation about potential careers in manufacturing and engineering.
“We work hard to demonstrate the variety of opportunities available across the sector, and through days such as this, our education programmes provide valuable insight into our business and the wider industry.
“By opening our factory doors we hope to inspire students to show them the future possibilities within food and drink businesses such as ours.”
FDF director of competitiveness, Angela Coleshill added: “There is such a wide range of highly skilled, well-paid career opportunities in food and drink manufacturing.
“Company-run workshops like this which give young people a first-hand taste of the sector and the chance to network with employers are really important.”
