Inspiring young people to consider a career in food

Eastlea Community School visits Thames Refinery

Last week we hosted students from local Newham secondary school Eastlea Community School at our Thames Refinery to learn about a career in food and drink manufacturing and marketing for a food brand.

The thirty students, aged 16, toured our museum, raw sugar shed and jetty on the River Thames. They also met colleagues from our marketing team, and undertook an interactive task to come up with an innovative new product.

At the beginning of their visit, a poll of the students suggested only 5% wanted to work in food and drink manufacturing when they left school, but after the visit the same poll found 75% would consider it. We were delighted to have inspired them to consider a career in the sector.

We think a career in food offers a fast-moving, dynamic and exciting industry with a huge variety of opportunities in purchasing, selling, warehousing, logistics, operations management, new product development, marketing, and sustainability, not just in the UK but the world over.

“Your support made a real difference in creating an engaging and valuable experience for the students, and we’re very grateful for your dedication to their learning. The students left feeling inspired, with a new understanding of career paths in marketing, the potential apprenticeships paths at the company, and, of course, fond memories of the sugar mountain.” Brandy Mongoy, Programme Manager, Inspire ebp

Tate & Lyle Sugars is committed to inspiring young people in Newham, and hosts visits from local primary and secondary schools in collaboration with Inspire! (formerly 15billionebp). Children and young people can only aspire to what they know exists, and we aim to bring jobs and careers to life through a visit to our Refinery.