​In a LinkedIn post I wrote recently, I covered a recent report from Nestlé, covered by Food Manufacture, which highlights a growing concern for the UK industry: a looming Gen Z talent shortage in manufacturing.

One statistic is particularly striking. Of 2,000 UK 16-24-year-olds surveyed, just 4% said they would consider a career in manufacturing. This, despite food and drink being the UK’s largest manufacturing sector.

At first glance, this feels surprising. Dig a little deeper, and it starts to make perfect sense. 

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Historically, career paths were often shaped by proximity and familiarity. Farmers’ children became farmers. Doctors’ children aspired to medicine. If you grew up around a trade, you understood it and crucially, you could see yourself in it. Today, that dynamic has fundamentally changed.

Gen Z is the first generation to grow up fully immersed in platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Career inspiration is no longer local, it’s global, curated, and algorithm-driven. Young people are constantly exposed to content that promotes certain lifestyles and career paths as aspirational: entrepreneurship, content creation, tech startups and personal branding. These roles are visible, engaging, and often portrayed as glamorous, even if the cars you see are only a lease.

Manufacturing, by comparison, is largely invisible. If it’s not seen, it’s not considered.

The Perception Problem

There’s also a deeper misconception at play. Many young people supposedly believe UK manufacturing has largely moved overseas. The reality, of course, is very different, especially in our industries, where innovation, automation, sustainability, and technology are transforming the sector at a pace. But perception is powerful.

If manufacturing is seen as outdated, manual, or lacking progression, it simply won’t compete with the careers dominating social feeds. And right now, the industry isn’t telling its story loudly enough to counter that narrative.

The Industry Conversation, And the Missing Action

What’s interesting is that this challenge isn’t new. At networking events, industry dinners, and client meetings, the conversation comes up time and time again:
“How do we attract the next generation?”

It’s a shared concern across businesses of all sizes. Yet for all the discussion, meaningful action often lags behind.

Why?

Partly, it’s a question of ownership. Many businesses assume this is an industry-wide issue, something for trade bodies, educators, or government to solve. Others recognise the challenge but treat employer branding and outreach as a “nice to have” rather than a strategic priority.

There’s also a capability gap. Creating engaging, authentic content that resonates on modern platforms requires a different skillset, one that many manufacturing businesses haven’t fully embraced.

The reality is that the competition for talent has changed. Manufacturing is no longer just competing with other sectors; it’s competing with everything a young person sees on their phone.

That means the approach has to change too.

• Visibility matters: Showcasing real people, real career journeys, and real innovation within businesses.

• Storytelling matters: Communicating impact, how roles in manufacturing contribute to feeding the nation, sustainability, and global supply chains.

• Engagement matters: Meeting young people where they are, not expecting them to come to you.

From Fallback to First Choice

The food and drink manufacturing sector has an incredible story to tell. It offers innovation, progression, stability, and purpose, qualities that many young people are actively seeking as well as, of course, a healthy paycheck and a strong sense of security.

But unless those opportunities are positioned as aspirational, they risk being overlooked.

The challenge and the opportunity is clear.

If we want manufacturing to be seen as a career of choice rather than a fallback option, the industry needs to rethink how it shows up in the modern world.

Because if Gen Z is discovering careers through a screen, then that’s exactly where manufacturing needs to be.