The idea for the job board was born from Paul Knight and Phil Hutchinson-May, who between them have more than 50 years of knowledge of the foodservice industry as well as experience recruiting talent to join their teams over that time.
Co-founder Paul Knight said: “The foodservice recruitment marketplace is highly fragmented. There is no one place to find vacancies within the sector.
“Distributors and manufacturers want to easily access the best talent to drive their performance.
“Equally candidates are looking for roles and want a central website where they can access any current vacancies within the foodservice sector all in one place.”
He said he and Hutchinson-May had identified a gap in the market for supporting this sector and have made it their goal to change how foodservice recruits, with targeted job listings, as well as relevant tools to help talent upskill for their futures.
“The aftermath of Covid-19 has seen many businesses affected, in particular, the pandemic has severely affected the foodservice sector and those in its supply chain, with sales expected to be down 56%.
“Analysts, including McKinsey, state it will not be until 2023 that we return to post pandemic foodservice sales. That would require a growth of to 18% per annum from here on in and this growth means opportunity and jobs.
“To support this growth rate, Foodservice Central aims to be the conduit between foodservice specialists looking to advance their career, and foodservice manufacturers and distributors looking to recruit employees with a passion for foodservice.
Hutchinson-May added: “The great thing about Foodservice Central is that we’re niche. The benefit of being niche means our platform will allow clients to save time by attracting more targeted candidates.
“We know everyone in the industry has a passion for foodservice and a desire to stay within it. Working with clients we will build a vibrant place for high quality foodservice candidates to engage and find the best selection of jobs and career support.”
The pair say they believe that Foodservice Central will be ‘more than just a job site’, they see it as a ‘community hub for people and businesses where foodservice experience really matters’.
Knight said: “We aim to add support by connecting these individuals with experts for careers advice and encouraging engagement, sharing ideas and networking with like-minded people.”
The job board will act a central location for trainers and charities to list their development courses and training to help prepare candidates for their next position before using our online job board to find the perfect role.