“It’s been a really busy day. We’ve seen a breadth of students from catering through to Master’s degrees looking for placements and internships. We want to place people who will add value to our group, and we have seen people today who we think could be interesting. Generally, the people we’ve seen have been of a very good calibre. Students are really understanding that consumers are driving aspects like packaging; they are looking at the market from multiple angles.”

Barbara Findlay HR Director, The Fresh Produce Centre

“How exciting it is to see so much enthusiasm and intrigue in the fresh produce industry! We have seen quite a scope of people; from those who are more reserved to those who might be the next produce buyer at a major UK retailer.”

George Beach Founder, Mudwalls Farm

“It’s been amazing! I’ve done recruitment fairs for the last nine years and the quality of the people here have been much better than anywhere else! Everyone has been enthusiastic about the hospitality industry rather than just wanting a job. Everyone was confident and knew what they wanted to talk about. They have an interest in food and hospitality. They are the future of our industry!”

Sarah Fyfe Recruitment Manager, Searcys

“It’s a chance to gain access to both students and their lecturers to make a connection between the produce industry and academia. Students need to know how their courses can lead into full-time jobs. Produce is quite a hidden industry and many still think it’s a ‘mud and wellies’ business. But today there are a lot of varied roles, especially with the rise in technology. We have drone pilots and thermal imaging projects. There’s a lot of science now. We also have a trained ecologist as our environment manager, which is a job that didn’t exist a couple of years ago. ”

Simon Conway Managing Director, Vitacress

“It’s been very, very good. This is the first time we’ve done a recruitment fair outside of Portugal. We said if we could get three good candidates it would have been worth coming, yet we’ve had more than 20 applications for our internship programme! This morning was exciting. We will return next year with even more information. It’s been completely worthwhile.”

Paulo Gonçalves Quinta do Lago Resort, Portugal

“It’s been really nice. We’ve had quite a lot of interest in our graduate scheme. It’s been good to educate students about the Lidl brand.”

Lidl UK

“It’s the first time we’ve attended an event like this. I’ve been interested in a few people, and lots of people have been registering for our job alerts. We’ve been opening their eyes to the opportunities out there. Whether they’re a nutrition, business or culinary arts student, there’s a place for them in this industry.”

Jemma Mastrocristino Talent Acquisition Manager, AMC Fresh Group

“I’ve been amazed at the diversity of people looking for roles. Certainly, we’ve had a couple of candidates for whom the company would like to find placements, ideally for a specific role, in order to snap them up. We’ve seen some very bright people who are flexible in their skills and could go into four or five different roles.”

Ben Goodchild Procurement Manager, Total Produce UK

“It’s definitely been worthwhile; we’ve seen everyone from the average job seeker to a PhD student today. It’s been a good opportunity to inform young people about the variety of careers in topfruit, from agricultural engineering to finance. We’ve also promoted seasonal jobs. We’ve learnt things too. People are really keen to have experience via internships or apprenticeships, which we can feedback to the company, as we don’t offer that currently.”

Sam Smith AC Goatham & Son

“It’s been a really productive day. We are hiring for three, different full-time roles, and we have some really quality candidates coming out of today, whom we will reach out to for interviews for sure.”

Nilay Kamdar Business Development Manager, Pan United

“We’ve had a busy day with a steady stream of people. We’ve been running interviews for our graduate scheme, which we’ve not done before at a fair. Out of six interviews, three or four candidates have made it through. Plus, we have the names of 20 people to follow up with. It’s absolutely been worthwhile!”

Anna Williams Marketing Manager, MDS

“Congratulations on such a successful event! Our careers advisors have been helping people with their next steps; CVs, interviews, job searches or career planning. It’s been a really positive day. We’ve had a lot of CV and interview questions. We’ve been giving advice about what direction to go in; discussing their skills and interests.”

Trudy Nieto Delivery Team Manager, National Careers Service

“We’ve had good engagement. People have been interested in what we do. We’ve seen a lot of different students from different universities. ”

Sharon Daniell Talent Manager, BaxterStorey

“We’ve seen some really good students in their final year who are unsure what to do next. Our CV Clinic has been really popular and helpful too.”

Claire Smith Marketing Manager, MorePeople

“As suppliers, it’s our responsibility to attract and employ new talent. I have interviewed a real mix of good quality candidates in my role as a Foodservice Dragon at The Fresh Careers Fair. They have been inquiring, motivated, positive and they have asked good questions.”

Sharon Linney Operations Director, CH&Co

“It’s been a really exciting and useful day. Almost every single stand I have visited has offered me something; whether that’s a day’s work experience, a work placement or contact details. I’ve found out about new opportunities I didn’t know existed. I don’t know what I want to do in the future but I do know I want to remain in the food industry! ”

Emily Bright food business management and marketing undergraduate, Newcastle University

“It’s been really engaging coming to this event. There is a lot of potential for employment and career progression. I have found out about career paths that I didn’t know about – there are so many different roles available! My goal is to progress with a career in the hospitality industry.”

Sam Bailey travel and tourism, business and accounting graduate, Guilford College

“It’s been useful to see who is recruiting, as you don’t always see these companies advertising online. There are lots of opportunities. It’s been good for networking and everyone has been very approachable for advice. It was also great to get a free, professional headshot photo to use on LinkedIn, as those are expensive!”

Christina Norlin third year Human Nutrition student, Kingston University

“I’ve applied for the internships at G’s Fresh and Berry Gardens, plus the MDS graduate scheme! It’s been a good opportunity to meet recruitment consultancy agencies too.”

Mateusz Bocian third year Human Nutrition student, Kingston University

“I’ve been to The Fresh Careers Fair for a number of years. In the past, it clashed with students’ timetables but we made changes so Years 1, 2 and 3 can attend to make them more aware of the range of roles in the food industry. There are so many roles for nutrition students – in technical, new product development, the procurement of ingredients, labelling and legislation, etc. – but students don’t look for these roles because they don’t know they exist. You can’t Google this!”

Pedro Barra Course Leader for Human Nutrition, Kingston University

“It’s been really good to reconnect with people since my internship at Richard Hochfeld which I secured by coming to The Fresh Careers Fair two years ago. Since then I’ve also won the MDS graduate scheme, which is a two-year course at four different companies that I start in April 2020. Today, I’ve spoken with Berry Gardens, Mack and Vitacress. I’m probably heading towards more of technical role in the industry at the moment.”

Tim Whincup final year agribusiness management undergraduate, Newcastle University

“Congratulations on a successful jobs fair – what a great day. I thought it was absolutely fantastic – well done. One of my experienced advisers said it was the best she had ever been to!”

Trudy Nieto Delivery Team Leader North London, National Careers Service London

“I am delighted to hear that I won the FCF Produce Dragons’ Competition! I would like to thank Dale Thompson, Sharon Linney and Carol Borhani for interviewing me. The event was very creative and uplifting!”

Erayna Spencer Student

“I found the FCF profitable; I met potential students who want to attend some of our postgraduate programmes. Our students found it interesting in terms of job progression. I will certainly come along next year, so please keep me on your mailing list!”

Linda Nicolaides University of Greenwich

“It was very smooth throughout the day – a well-orchestrated flow of candidates meant that we didn’t have peaks and troughs – so well organised.”

Martin Brown Director, Henderson Brown

“The Fresh Careers Fair is a really well run event with a good cross section of graduates to interact with. It’s a great opportunity to introduce our sector to some ambitious and driven people.”

Morten Andresen MorePeople

“We really enjoyed attending the fair and felt that we talked to a good handful of people that would look to consider either our Retail Management Scheme or Sales Assistant roles, which is excellent. In the market there are so few retail/hospitality specific fairs and your fair does come up as one of the few on the search fields.”

Hannah Caswell Majestic Wine

“The event was a rewarding experience for Mont Rose College students who attended. One of our students secured a two week placement through the event.”

Preya Oukabay Admission & Career Adviser, Mont Rose College

“I’d like to thank you on behalf of everyone from Newcastle University – I know the event was valued by everyone who attended. It’s allowed us to gain some good contacts in an industry we’re all passionate about. I have been personally offered a placement at Richard Hochfeld as a direct result of the FCF and know others are speaking to companies who exhibited at the Fair about placements.”

Tim Whincup Student, Newcastle University

“As an International Business Masters student, from the University of Leeds, I jumped at the opportunity to participate in the first edition of the Fresh Careers Fair (FCF). It gave me the chance to come face-to-face and network with companies and employers in the UK and international retail, wholesale, foodservice, catering, among many others sectors, related to fresh produce. In fact, the fair was the bridge that connected me to my current employer, Total Produce. I met some recruiters there on the day and gave them my CV. After interviewing I landed the job I wanted with Total Produce, as a Graduate Trader in International Procurement/Sales. Don’t wait for companies to come to you! Go out and impress them! The FCF is a great opportunity to do that.”

Michelangelo Dalbosco Student

“Richard Hochfeld Ltd are proud to support this initiative to introduce young people to the benefits of the Produce Industry and its related services and trades. For far too long it has been an industry that many people have just “stumbled” into. By reaching out to school leavers and graduates we can positively attract real talent by raising the awareness of the benefits of a career in this fast paced and exciting business.”

Alan Guindi Exhibitor