Arla Foods has warned the UK’s long-running skills shortage in food and farming is becoming a risk to “food resilience”.
Publishing its seventh annual survey of British farmers yesterday (12 August), Arla said 82.4% of respondents with vacancies reported that “very few or no applicants for the role have the right skills”.
The figure has remained above 80% for the past seven years, the dairy co-operative added.
Bas Padberg, Arla Foods UK managing director, said: “Securing the future of British food starts with securing people. Behind every litre of milk and every meal on the table is a skilled workforce producing, processing and transporting food.”
He added: “If we want a resilient food system capable of feeding future generations, we must invest in the skills, education and pathways that will build the workforce of tomorrow.”
The latest survey, based on 440 responses, suggests labour pressures are now extending beyond the farm gate.
Arla said it takes around 105 days to recruit engineers into its supply chain, against an average of 58 days for other roles.
Arla said the challenge is shifting from one of labour availability to one of capability, at a time when the sector is also ageing.
Almost 48% of farmers surveyed were over 55 and 17.8% were over 65, while 50.5% said it is harder to retain staff now than before Brexit and Covid.
Nearly 65% of respondents said changes in schools and colleges would be the most effective way to attract more people into the industry.
Paul Dover, Arla Foods UK agriculture director, said government initiatives were “helpful” but added: “We need to change perceptions of the sector and ensure attractiveness to expand our talent pool.”
Arla is launching an outreach programme targeting more than 100 schools and 100,000 young people, while also expanding apprenticeships, including plans to recruit 50 apprentices over two years at its Taw Valley site.
In other recent developments, Arla and Germany’s DMK completed their merger at the start of June, creating a dairy co-operative with pro-forma revenue of more than €20bn ($23bn) and around 28,000 employees.
The company has also expanded internationally through its Arla Foods Mayer Australia venture, which agreed in May to acquire Australian cottage cheese producer Brancourts.
