On Monday, the Department for Work and Pensions announced the launch of a new campaign by Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) and Jobcentre Plus which it claims will provide over 15,000 young people with a chance to gain skills and insight into the food and grocery industry.

The Feeding Britain's Future campaign, involving over 150 companies, will provide young people with access to a variety of settings across the food industry – Britain's largest employment sector. The new scheme follows a pilot project which was deemed a success last year.

Companies including Muller Dairies and Morrisons supermarket will provide workshops and interview sessions with HR managers. Young people will also have the opportunity to try out practical jobs, enabling them to develop their skills to improve their chances of gaining employment.

Launching the scheme, employment minister Mark Hoban said, "I am determined to give young people all the help they need to have a good start to their careers, which is why we are working with employers up and down the country to encourage them to provide training and work experience opportunities to help young people get into work."

Joanne Denney-Finch OBE, Chief Executive of IGD, added, "Young people who join us in September will be able to hear first-hand from industry experts about what it is that makes successful applicants stand out and how they too can sell themselves. We have a huge amount to offer, employing 3.7 million people in a diverse range of jobs."

Elaborating on what the campaign will entail, a spokesperson for the IGD said Feeding Britain's Future will "provide a taster of what young people could look for or expect in terms of recruitment."

Keen to distance the new campaign from now infamous 'Back to Work' schemes, such as the Community Action Programme or sector based work academy which involved long and mandatory placements for jobseekers, providing free labour to large companies while those on the schemes received only their jobseekers' allowance, working for as little as £1.78 per hour, the spokesperson added that training will involve tours of farms, factories and stores involved in the campaign.

She continued that companies playing a part in the scheme would be conducting CV workshops and day long introduction sessions, though said some companies would offer work experience on a voluntary basis.

A DWP spokesperson added that experience would include chocolate tasting, short skills courses and tours to provide an induction, rather than hands on experience. However, the spokesperson added that this experience would vary from company to company.