People Have To Eat

All the signs are that the buoyancy in the Irish food and drinks industry is set to continue. In 1995 total output stood at £8 billion. By the year 2,000 it is estimated that it will reach £12 billion.

The sector is a major employer. Currently 41,000 people work in the industry - 20 per cent of the industrial workforce. This success is largely due to the fact that it has developed and diversified in recent years.

"The food industry today is a combination of the traditional meat and dairy based industries and the newer consumer foods and food ingredient industries," says Michael Duffy, chief executive of An Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board.

Prepared consumer foods - value-added consumer products such as ready-made meals, pizza, confectionery products and chilled deserts - are enjoying the fastest rate of growth in the sector. Exports of prepared consumer foods increased by almost 13 per cent in 1997 to £730 million. Meanwhile the drinks industry increased exports by over 11 per cent to £550 million.

Although the food and drinks industry is a fast moving one where change is constant, the business is far less volatile than other highly paced sectors. People have to eat. Innovations occur as the market responds to changing lifestyles and evolving customer needs.

As a result the sector offers a wide range of opportunities for anyone considering a career. The fact that the industry is export-driven, says Duffy, means that people with marketing, language and trade development skills are in demand and will continue to be so. Because the industry is technology-based there is a growing need for food scientists and food technologists.

Increasingly the industry is using biological processes which means a greater demand for people with biotechnology skills. The growing emphasis, too, on food safety means a greater demand for personnel with quality assurance expertise. "There's demand right across the board for graduates and technicians," Duffy stresses.