Help Wanted: Food Industry Technician Program Surges Forward
This innovative training program, started by the Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) in 2019, develops essential plant skills that allow workers to flourish in early career settings.
U.S. manufacturing construction spending touched a 20-year high in April 2023, when it reached a $194 billion annual rate, according to the Federal Reserve. Not surprisingly, the food industry is part of this story. IMI SalesLeads research cites 74 new construction or modernization food and beverage projects will start by the end of this year.
With explosive growth in the industry, food brands and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are working hard to add younger employees and leverage older workers or mentors. The opportunity to pass down skills from “greybeards” will only be here briefly and, according to the Bureau of Labor, Deloitte, and PEW Research, 10,000 boomers reach retirement age daily and represent 27% of the U.S. manufacturing workforce.