With an aging workforce, the seafood industry is looking to reinvigorate the talent pool by providing a more holistic picture of all that the sector has to offer people looking to make a start on a more rewarding career path.
Focusing on the opportunities there are to travel, the competitive wages, the huge variety of roles, apprenticeship and training options and the prospect of running your own business, the campaign provides insight into what a role in the seafood industry could look like.
With many examples of individuals who have left high flying roles to follow dream careers in the seafood industry, it would appear that the taking the plunge can pay off.
- Brothers George and Dino Papadamou, trained to be a doctor and lawyer respectively, before jumping at the chance to take over their family’s fish and chip shop business, Papa’s, in Hull. They say that they “haven’t looked back since”.
- Tim Jones, winner of the 2015 Young Seafood Chef of the Year competition, quit his role as a commercial property litigation lawyer, to retrain as a chef. Tim now believes he has one of the best jobs in the country.
- Sarah O’Connor left her advertising job in Glasgow to establish The Fabulous Fish Company in Chepstow. She was the first fishmonger in Wales to complete a foundation apprenticeship in Fish and Shellfish Industry Skills and was recently awarded a bronze Wales True Taste Award for People’s Choice Favourite Fishmonger.
The campaign has a range of engaging case studies as well as a film, following several vibrant and aspirational seafood ambassadors working in a variety of roles.
The film and case studies can be found on the Seafish website: http://www.seafish.org/training/careers.
Simon Potten, Head of Safety and Training at Seafish, said: “The seafood industry is a vibrant place to be right now with more choice of diverse and interesting careers than ever before.
“At the start of a new year, there is no better time to consider switching to a career in seafood. There are competitive salaries on offer for the right candidates and many roles provide interesting, diverse and challenging work. Seafood is a global industry which in itself provides additional opportunities so I’d encourage you to take a look and see what this industry has to offer you.
“We are calling on members of the seafood industry to back our campaign and get involved on social media. Let’s work together to let young people know they will be warmly welcomed into our industry.”
