Engineering workshop was the real McCoy

The female A-Level and BTEC students, from schools across Pontefract, took part in the food engineering workshop, run by KP Snacks in Hellaby.

The event - set up by KP in partnership with the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and youth social business MyKindaFuture - saw company engineers set a practical challenge for the Year 13 students, who had previously expressed an interest in the BEng and MEng food engineering degrees at Sheffield Hallam University.

The young women were presented with a real-life case study to solve, representative of a common factory scenario, to help them gain an insight into food and drink manufacturing and the problems encountered by engineers on a day-to-day basis. The winning group - Olivia Ablett, Ellie Crossley, Rachael Millet and Charley Lidster - took home a number of KP Snacks, such as peanuts and McCoy crisps.

Angela Coleshill, director of employment and skills at FDF, said: “The skills agenda is a top priority for our industry. We are proud that our members continue to support careers initiatives such as the MyKindaFuture engineering events to ensure a solid succession plan for employment in our sector.”