2 Sisters Thetford in hunt for help to feed the nation

9 September 2020

One of Britain’s biggest food manufacturers with a major base in Thetford is appealing for new workers as the East of England deals with an unprecedented jobs crisis brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.

Poultry producer 2 Sisters Food Group, which employs more than 800 people at its base at Caxton Way, Thetford, is keen to help people who may be jobless with the Covid-19 pandemic causing major casualties in numerous employment sectors.

There are more than 100 full-time, temporary and part-time positions currently available at the plant, in a number of different departments, ranging from intake, frying, packing and dispatch.

Thetford business support manager Denise Berry said: “Clearly the local economy is going to take a big hit with the pandemic, but there are some sectors such as ours helping to feed the UK which are doing very well and still require workers.

“We have reached out to the local community to explain that although we’re supplementing our own employees with agency staff at the moment, we would really like to convert these to permanent colleagues who work directly for our business.

“There are some great opportunities available and we have many examples of people who have gone on to have long and fulfilling careers in the business – for those ambitious and capable, there’s good opportunities for career progression.”

Privately-owned 2 Sisters employs 20,000 in the UK and Europe, processes one-third of all chicken consumed in the UK, is the largest ready-meals producer and makes Fox’s Biscuits and other bakery goods. 75% of the UK population eat its food every day.

In March the business made a social media video appeal after the company decided to launch its first-ever nationwide recruitment campaign due to the level of vacancies across all its businesses, including Thetford. And the demand for its products and the need for new recruits is still present.

Also, last month 2 Sisters supported the Chancellors new launch of a Kickstart Scheme, which will see cash used to create hundreds of thousands' of high quality six-month work placements. They will be aimed specifically at people aged 16 to 24 who are on Universal Credit and are deemed to be at risk of long-term unemployment, with 2 Sisters keen to speak to all potential recruits in the 18-24 year-old age bracket.

Denise added: “The fall-out of this crisis will hit vulnerable young workers harder than other age groups, so again this is where we can also help at Thetford.

“We understand that the Kickstart scheme is an initial six-month placement, but this is not to say there wouldn’t be further opportunities for those starting out in their careers to develop themselves and stay at the business.

“We have a great track record for training our people with many success stories of personal development from shop floor to senior management, so we’d really like to hear from as many people as possible.”

Contact the HR department on HR.thetford@2sfg.com if you are interested in a role.

See all our news