CHICAGO — Strategies for strengthening the baking industry’s workforce for the future was the topic of conversation during an education session at BakingTECH 2024, the American Society of Baking (ASB)’s annual conference, held February 27-29 in Chicago.
Brenda Fermin Ramos, director of R&D for Puratos USA; John Hinds, operations manager at Cain Food Industries and a board member of the Bakers National Education Foundation (BNEF); and Sarah Day, director of education for ASB, each shared an innovative solution that could help minimize the impending workforce shortage.
Ramos kicked off the session by discussing how Puratos adapted the bakery school concept it created in 2014 to help aspiring bakers in places ranging from developing countries to a high school in Pennsauken, NJ, which is five minutes away from a Puratos facility.
“When we shared with our board that we wanted to build a bakery school in the US, we had to explain that the elements that were behind the premise of building the bakery schools [in developing countries] also hold true in the US,” Ramos shared. “We have a growing lack of a skilled labor force in the baking industry. We also have an issue with poverty and homelessness.”
The goal in starting the baking school was to ensure underserved students were equipped to join the workforce after high school. The program is one of 14 career and technical education programs the high school offers. The bakery school gives students real-life baking experience and resources.
“The goal of the curriculum is to provide options and opportunities,” Ramos said. “It gives students a flexible pathway so if, after high school, they want to continue on and move to higher education, they could. Or, if they want to work, they should be equipped to do that. They will earn a certificate in baking and pastry and with industry-recognized credentials from ServSafe and the Retail Bakers of America’s student accreditation program.”
BNEF’s baking industry recruitment efforts
When Hinds took the stage, he talked about BNEF’s “Your Future in Baking” initiative, which stemmed from efforts to recruit students to Kansas State University’s bakery science program. Those efforts have expanded into a push to increase overall industry awareness, and, more specifically, an awareness of career opportunities available in the baking industry.
“We’ve been talking about how the baking industry is deficient in employees in all areas of production, including leadership skills, problem-solving skills, decision-making skills and baking industry-specific skills since at least 2016,” Hinds said, citing difficulties such as identifying talent pools, finding candidates with needed skills, making baking manufacturing appealing and a lack of awareness of the baking industry as top obstacles.
“BNEF chose to focus on increasing awareness of the baking industry,” he added. “There have been some great individual efforts in the industry to increase awareness and talent acquisition. Yet, what BNEF hasn’t seen is a unified response to how we’re going to do this together, and we want to be the leader in that effort.”
The “Your Future in Baking” initiative involves boots-on-the-ground, grassroots efforts to connect with high schools and community organizations, which provide opportunities to talk directly with students about the baking industry, career options and paths into the industry that don’t require a college education.
While the organization has a robust digital presence that includes a website with a toolkit for prospective employees looking for jobs and social media outreach, the bulk of its recruitment efforts has been more active.
“We physically go into schools try to connect with students on a personal level,” Hinds said. “We tell the industry’s story and share our career paths.”
Since the initiative launched in 2021, BNEF has presented to more than 2,500 high school students, teachers and administrators.
Workforce retention through appropriate training
Day wrapped the session with a presentation focused on strategies for retaining current employees through workplace learning and professional development.
“Adult education is a little different than the education we think about when we think of educating children,” she said. “Adults have a lot of different pieces; they are more complex, so there are many things we need to think about if we’re going to make their workplace education successful.”
An important factor for companies to consider when deciding to invest in employee training is relevance.
“The training needs to be relevant to the person who’s taking it,” Day said. “Otherwise, it’s not going to resonate, and it’s probably going to be a bit of a waste of time and resources.”
Day noted that it’s also important to consider whether the training fits into the employee’s career plan and if it will help the employee head in the direction they want to go. Offering different types of training — videos, textbooks, in-person classes, online courses — can give employees a sense of control and more freedom over how and when they complete their training.
Lastly, Day added the importance of considering the existing knowledge of the person taking the training.
“Adults learn best when they are fully engaged,” Day said. “They’re drawing on their own relevant experiences, and they’re applying that knowledge to the real-life situation they have in front of them.”
