The quality of employees and the ability to attract staff with the desired skills, attributes and cultural fit can have significant impacts on the operation and success of businesses. The Allen Consulting Group was commissioned by the Food Technology Association to undertake a survey to examine the demand for Food Science and Technology Graduates. The survey also explored the issues facing businesses in relation to hiring, attracting and retaining FST graduates and potential mechanisms to address these issues.

The results of the survey indicate that many FST graduates do not possess the skills and attributes businesses consider important. The disparity between skills identified by businesses as important, and skills identified as usually being possessed by FST graduates suggests that many graduates do not possess the technical skills that are considered important by businesses. Moreover, a limited number of FST graduates were identified as possessing the employability attributes considered to be most important.

The evidence suggests that while the skills and attributes of graduates are thought to be deficient, this can be partly attributed to high business expectations of the skills graduates should possess upon graduation.

Image: Shannon Slane "Processed" afsart / flickr