The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) has issued warnings about workforce shortages across the UK food sector, despite unemployment being on the rise.
In response, the organisation is bringing back an expanded version of its schools programme, Feeding Britain’s Future, which it first introduced in 2012. The programme connects industry professionals with young people to provide skills training, CV workshops, and career insights – over 133,000 students have been provided training to date.
IGD recently published a new report entitled ‘Food and drink workforce – a quiet crisis building?’, where it claimed that labour and skills gaps pose a growing risk to national food security. Despite years of effort from industry and government, these workforce challenges show little sign of improvement with pressures increasingly difficult for businesses to absorb behind the scenes, it noted.
Its analysis found that the sector is currently facing “a labour and skills crunch that will not correct itself”, even with economic recovery. At the same time, almost one million young people remain unemployed, leaving a huge pool of untapped potential while businesses struggle to fill essential roles across agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, retail, and hospitality.
So far, consumers have been shielded from disruption by companies, but the report warns the sector is reaching a tipping point. This “quiet crisis” behind supermarket shelves risks becoming visible through reduced availability, declining service levels, rising costs, and increased operational strain throughout the supply chain.
IGD had previously warned that food and drink businesses, including bakeries, should expect a make-or-break year in 2026.
Labour market structural weaknesses
In its report, IGD identified several forces driving long‑term instability. These include:
- An ageing population, with a growing share of workers retiring and fewer people entering the labour market
- Rising long‑term illness among working‑age adults, shrinking labour supply further
- Migration policies that limit access to people the industry has historically relied on
- An education and training system that does not consistently produce work‑ready candidates, leaving employers reporting gaps in both technical and soft skills
- Changing expectations of work among younger generations.
The signs of strain are already clear, it said, noting the likes of longer vacancy fill times, rising burnout, worsening skills gaps and succession challenges in critical roles such as HGV drivers, engineers, and frontline operations.
As many as 4.1 million people are employed across the food system, almost twice the size of the NHS and representing roughly one in every eight UK workers. At the same time, unemployment has risen to 1.9 million – up 652,000 since 2022 – resulting in a rate of 5.2%. In addition, 946,000 young adults are NEET (Not in Education, Training or Employment). This masks deep structural weaknesses, said the IGD.
“The UK is facing a growing crisis of youth opportunity,” commented Naomi Kissman, social impact director at IGD. “We have a responsibility, as the nation’s largest private sector employer, to give young people the future they deserve, as part of a confident, skilled, future-ready workforce.”
Building a talent pipeline
The relaunch of the updated Feeding Britain’s Future programme will occur later this year, it confirmed, while stressing that now was the time for the industry to start engaging with it and asking how to get involved.
A renewed approach for the programme will focus on six interventions designed to strengthen the talent pipeline and support employers to attract, retain, and develop essential skills. These include:
- Providing free, cross industry early-career learning to build confidence and highlight long-term careers in food and drink
- Delivering a national schools programme to build skills, confidence and awareness of sector opportunities
- Increasing visibility of food sector careers across widely used platforms and digital channels
- Establishing strategic university partnerships to raise the profile of food and drink careers
- Delivering scalable work experience opportunities to build confidence and practical skills for young people
- Bringing the industry together to amplify a collective voice and champion food and drink careers including its youth focused ‘Mmmakeyourmark’ campaign.
IGD is also calling for a strengthened government partnership, including a national workforce strategy for food and drink, reform of the Growth and Skills Levy, greater certainty on seasonal and skills-based immigration routes and improved alignment between Jobcentre support, local skills planning and the needs of a strategically critical sector.
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