Challenge gives pupils taste for careers in food industry

Pupils at Tain Royal Academy have been challenged to help raise the profile of careers in Scotland's food industry, as well as getting a feel for what it takes to run a business.

More than a hundred S2 pupils have been tasked with the creation and marketing of a new pakora as part of the Scottish Food and Drink School's Challenge event, held on Friday 6th October and supported by the Caledonian Curry Company and ANTA Scotland Ltd. 

The challenge has been designed by Scottish Food & Drink, in association with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and Improve, the food and drink sector skills council for the UK, in a bid to help foster links between secondary schools and local food and drink manufacturers.  This is one of many partnerships between education and business which are being supported by the Scottish Executive initiative on Enterprise Education, Determined to Succeed, currently being promoted nationally to businesses.

As part of the challenge, the pupils need to come up with the new pakora.

They also have to plan the budget and the production and manufacturing process, design the packaging, before creating an advertising poster and a radio jingle to support the product's launch at the mini trade fair at the end of the day.  A team of judges including Ian Smith from the Caledonian Curry Company will judge the teams' work and final products before deciding upon a winner. 

The challenge aims to raise awareness of careers in the food industry and gain an understanding of how a business works, making direct links to the curriculum so that pupils can see where subjects taught can be applied to a real job. In addition to supporting the curriculum, the challenge builds a variety of skills and confidence as well as experience of working as a team to make decisions, which often involves improving their communication skills and developing a willingness to take responsibility and initiative.

The challenge is cross curricular and several departments will be involved in the event including; English, music, art, science and home economics.

Ena Beaton, principal home economics teacher at the school said:  "The event will be great fun for the young people and give them a tremendous insight into the world of work, demonstrating the clear links between what they learn in the classroom and how this will be applied in the work-place environment."

Mairi McDermott, principal teacher for pastoral care said:  "This is a great opportunity for different departments in the school to work together and show the links between their subjects and the real world of work."

Moira Stalker, project manager for Scottish Food & Drink said:  "Many youngsters do not see beyond the white hats and coats of the processing business, and are not aware of the diverse opportunities that are available in the food and drink sector, such as marketing, product development and so on. Through the challenge we want to show what fun, creative and exciting job opportunities there are, and hope it will ignite a spark of interest in making a career in the industry."

Improve national manager for Scotland, Kelvin Thomson, said: "The Schools Food and Drink Challenge is an excellent way of encouraging schools and food and drink manufacturers to work together more closely. It delivers a taste of genuine enterprise for the young people while also introducing them to the possibilities of attractive careers in the sector."