Two staff from Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) have joined a nationwide campaign to inspire Welsh youngsters to pursue rewarding careers in the food industry.
Kate Patten and Kirstie Jones have signed up as ‘Tasty Ambassadors’ in a schools and colleges outreach programme managed by the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink (NSAFD), which is part of the Welsh Government’s ‘Tasty Careers’ programme.
Kate Patten works in HCC’s export development team. Her role involves developing relationships between some of Wales’s largest food processors in the red meat sector and prospective customers in Europe and beyond.
Kate explains: “Exports are vital to Wales’s lamb and beef industry and bring in over £200 million a year. This supports employment on farms, in food processing, in developing innovative products, in sales and marketing, distribution and retail.
“All these parts of the supply chain need bright new entrants with new ideas. I’m looking forward to going into schools and colleges to speak to students about the opportunities that working in the food industry can bring.”
Kirstie Jones now works with a wide range of small and independent companies to help their branding and marketing.
She works particularly closely with producers in the pork sector and high street butchers.
She said: “Having done marketing as part of my undergraduate studies, it’s very rewarding to be working in one of Wales’s largest economic sectors – food production. There are opportunities to put a wide range of skills into practice, and work with some really passionate producers to help them develop their businesses.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
