Livingston school gets food for thought

Dec 9 2010 by Marjorie Kerr, West Lothian Courier

A WEST Lothian school has been given food for thought as part of a scheme to highlight jobs in the food and drinks industry.

James Young High School in Livingston, is taking part in The Food and Drink Industry Schools Challenge run by the Scottish Food and Drink Federation, in partnership with Skills Development Scotland, Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Scottish Government and businesses in the food and drink industry.

And the school will join others from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire, the Isle of Lewis and Lanarkshire to take part in the programme.

Moira Stalker, National Scottish Food and Drink Federation Schools Co-ordinator said: “Food and drink is a tremendously important industry for Scotland and we want to ensure young people consider it a viable career option when they leave school.

“The Challenge seeks to link schools and business together on areas that are relevant to the industry, such as sustainability, ethical trading, food security and health and wellbeing, while offering something interesting and stimulating for the youngsters to work on.”

Companies such as Macphie of Glenbervie, Nairns, Stoats, Matthew Algie, United Central Bakeries and Caledonia Produce have signed up to work with schools in their local areas to devise cunning challenges to stretch the imaginations of pupils.

The initiative has been created to showcase the diverse range of careers available in the sector and has been crafted to tie all of the elements of the challenge in with the new Curriculum for Excellence.

The food and drink industry is one of Scotland's priority sectors, with production alone providing employment for around 50,000 people and generating an annual turnover of around £7.6 billion.

Skills Development Scotland has invested £30,000 into the scheme in order to help plug the skills gap in the industry and the challenge is being rolled out across primary and secondary schools in Scotland.