SECTOR FOCUS: SKILLS


Kraft serves up work experience


F


ood giant Kraft Foods is doing its bit to help battle youth unemployment by


giving a group of local youngsters the opportunity to sample the world of work. The company offered 90 unemployed youngsters the chance to try out a range of activities at Bournville, home of Cadbury, with the aim of boosting their chances of getting a job. The initiative was part of Skills for Work Week, which saw businesses in


‘We fully support Skills for Work Week and hope this day will inspire these young unemployed people’


Skills show with a difference: the Nickelodeon event at the ICC


the UK’s food and grocery industry open their doors to the young unemployed. The activities at Bournville included a one-to-one CV and interview


workshop led by volunteers from the business, a presentation in the form of a day in the life of an apprentice, as well as a tour of the chocolate factory, and best of all – the opportunity to find out what it takes to become a chocolate taster. Cadbury’s Neil Chapman said: “We are delighted to be able to play our part in this major UK initiative. “We fully support Skills for Work Week and hope this day will inspire


these young unemployed people in their search for future employment. Our aim is that they find it both an informative and interesting day with us.” Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of the Institute of Grocery


Distribution, said: “The food and grocery industry is the UK’s biggest employer and we’re committed to playing our part in tackling youth unemployment. “We’ve consulted both businesses and young people to identify where the skills gaps lie and what the barriers to employment are. We hope the development opportunities on offer will help the young unemployed on the journey towards finding a job.”


Junior skills on show


Children’s TV channel Nickelodeon took over the ICC recently for a skills awards with a difference. The event was the ‘Nickelodeon Fruit Shoot Skills Award’, and the


aim was to recognise the talents of youngsters in such categories as ‘Coolest Moves’, ‘Best Trick’, ‘Rising Music Star’ and the ‘Fruit Shoot Inspiration Award.’ To keep the skills theme going, the event featured a pre-show activities party outside the ICC, where guests were given the opportunity to try and master various skills themselves. Snowboarding simulators, rock climbing walls, football keepy-uppy stands and street dance tutorials were just a few of the activities on offer at the event. ICC event manager Karen Payne said: “This was the first time we


have worked with Nickelodeon and everyone from our technical crew to our client hosts thoroughly enjoyed working on the event. “The end result was exceptional; the transformation of Hall 3 was


quite amazing and the whole feel and atmosphere when you walked into the hall was completely different to anything we have done before.”


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OCTOBER 2012 CHAMBERLINK 39


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