What's happening at Jonas

News stories:

• Hutchinson Jonas raised £2.235 in the Bath Half Marathon

• Hutchinson Jonas Award 2009: Food science student wins industry award

• Jonas helps score winning result for local charity

Huchinson Jonas raises £2,235 for local charity

In March, Scott, Owen, Kyp and Kerrie, and interim Graham Jelfs, ran the Bath Half Marathon to raise money for local charity  PROPS. Not only did they speed round the course but they raised a total of £2,235.25.

PROPS is one of the only charities in the Bristol area to offer support to children and young adults with severe special needs. It is run by a team of volunteers who organise a range of educational and sporting activities for the children and young adults.

One of the most successful initiatives has been  a business enterprise after- school club where industry professionals come and help the students to made products they can display and sell. The money raised by Scott and the team means they can buy a Roland Cutter, a new piece of equipment that will enable the students to produce quality canvas prints, vinyl prints, posters, printed t shirts and fridge magnets.

Claire Hornshaw, Group Marketing Manager (left), presents winner, Laura Coyle, with her award

The Hutchinson Jonas Group, the food industry’s recruiter, launched the £500 award last year. Scott Hutchinson, Managing Director, said: “There are fantastic career opportunities in the food industry but it has a reputation of long hours and low pay. We wanted to show today’s students that good work gets well rewarded, so we launched our own industry award.”

The UK food and drink industry is one of the most competitive manufacturing sectors in the world, with an annual turnover of £77.4 billion and employing over 500,000 people*.  Yet it has suffered from falling numbers of top graduates coming into the market.

The course at Reading is a leading example of a vocational course that is succeeding in filling the skills gap in the food industry. The students gain valuable experience that often leads directly onto a job. The Hutchinson Jonas award is an incentive to excel while on placement.

Professor Michael Gordon, Director of Teaching & Learning at the University, said:  “The opportunity to undertake an industrial placement is an important component of the BSc degrees. The students benefit strongly from an understanding of the challenges facing the food industry, and the problem-solving that they are faced with allows them to develop skills that complement their academic studies in the University.” 

Laura was chosen out of 30 applicants to join the technical team at Tesco, where her responsibilities included quality and competitor analysis, improving the shelf life of products, and meeting suppliers to see how they managed production of products and followed up on complaints.

She said: “The placement was probably the best choice I’ve ever made. It cleared all my preconceived ideas of the food industry and changed my mind about which areas I’d like to work in. I’ve been offered a job in the technical department when I graduate and am expecting the contract to be sent through in the next few weeks.

Jonas helps score winning result for local charity

The total amount of money raised by a charity football tournament last year has been revealed as £16,270. The Jonas team, which reached the quarter finals, took part to help raise money for Bromley Sensory Support Service.

The Sensory Support Service enables pupils with sensory impairment to have the best possible access to the curriculum and the life of their school, whilst meeting needs which are specific to their sensory impairment.