This is an ideal launchpad for graduates seeking careers in the thriving food and drink industry – an industry which is facing particularly acute skills shortages with excellent employability prospects for suitably skilled graduates.Food and drink manufacturing and processing (FDMP) is vital to the UK economy. It’s the single largest manufacturing sector in the UK, accounting for 20% of total manufacturing, with 468,000 people employed. The wider food and drink sector, including food supply chain from the ‘Farm to Fork,’ contributes over £120 billion to the economy and employs 4.1m people – roughly 13% of the entire UK workforce. Due to the reduction of free movement from the EU and Covid-19, the industry’s chronical skills gap continues to widen. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills reported the FDMP sector will need 140,000 recruits by 2024.This programme offers both full-time and part-time study options and is accessible to recent graduates and those in employment. The blended learning method means that employers seeking to upskill and retain their best employees can do so with minimum time off work.Teesside University is highly praised for the links it maintains with local and national industries and businesses such as Marlow Foods (Quorn), SK Chilled Foods and Sainsbury’s. The university is committed to integrating with industry in the Tees Valley and has a record of producing employment-ready problem solvers and innovators.