Seventy-one percent of 16-19-year-olds don’t believe they have any skills an employer would want. That’s the headline from new IGD research, and it lands as the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) nears a million.

The rest of the study makes uncomfortable reading. Three in four (76%) say they need help putting their skills into words, and 73% say they have skills their CV doesn’t show. Seventy-one percent feel application forms don’t let them show what they can do. Self-confidence is a barrier for 34%, rising to 41% among young women.

Yet the skills are there. A quarter create or stream content online, 25% help settle disagreements between friends, and around a quarter look after family members, play competitive video games or organise plans and events. That’s creativity, mediation, teamwork and logistics, all things food and drink employers need.

An awareness problem, not a talent problem

The sector employs more than 4.1 million people and advertised an average of 22,000 vacancies at any one time in 2025. But only 18% of young people have considered working in it, with a lack of knowledge of the roles available cited as the biggest barrier.

The encouraging part is how easily that shifts. Eighty-six percent say they’d be more likely to consider the industry once shown the range of roles, and 82% would look into it if someone connected their everyday interests to a real job.

How industry can help

IGD’s Feeding Britain’s Future movement, backed by 95 businesses, aims to engage every UK secondary school by 2030. Individual employers can act now too:

• Show the roles. Engineering technician, product developer, supply chain manager and food buyer rarely feature in a teenager’s mental list of jobs. Go into schools and youth centres and talk about them.
• Translate skills. Help candidates see that running a group chat or a gaming team is relevant experience. IGD’s quiz at feedingbritainsfuture.co.uk is a ready-made starting point.
• Rethink applications. If most young people feel forms hide their ability, consider alternatives such as short practical tasks or conversational interviews.
• Offer experience. Work placements build confidence as well as skills. Programmes like Opening Shift, which offers retailer placements of two to four weeks for 18-24-year-olds who are NEET, show the model.

As IGD CEO Sarah Bradbury put it, young people don’t need a certain background or education, just a willingness to work hard and give it a go.

The talent is waiting. The industry’s job is to make itself visible and make it easy for young people to see themselves in it.

• Rodney Jack, editor, Food & Drink Technology. Keep in touch via email: [email protected] X: @foodanddrinktec or LinkedIn: Food & Drink Technology magazine.