USE: IMMEDIATE                                                                     ISSUED: Monday, 14 March 2005

Dingwall students will be given a taste of running their own business as Gillies Fine Foods supports a Scottish Food & Drink School’s Challenge event on 17^th March for 12 6^th year pupils from Dingwall Academy

The students will be asked to create a new highland fruit drink, plan the production process and its ‘manufacture’, decide upon the costing, design and produce eye-catching packaging and an advertising poster, and even come up with a radio jingle to support their product "launch" at the mini trade fair which will end the day. Su Gillies from Gillies Fine Foods will lead the groups through the one-day challenge and judge the winner.

The aim of the Challenge is to raise awareness of careers in the food industry and gain an understanding of how a business works. The Challenge makes direct links to the curriculum so that pupils can see where subjects taught can be applied to a real job. In addition to supporting the curriculum, the Challenge builds a variety of skills and confidence as well as experience of working as a team to make decisions, which often involves improving their communication skills and developing a willingness to take responsibility and initiative.

Su Gillies said: "The event will be great fun for the students and give them a tremendous insight into the world of work, demonstrating the clear links between what they learn in the classroom and how this will be applied in the work-place environment. "

Moira Stalker, project manager for Scottish Food & Drink said: "Many youngsters do not see beyond the white hats and coats of the processing business, and are not aware of the diverse opportunities that are available in the food and drink sector, such as marketing, product development and so on. Through the Challenge we want to show what fun, creative and exciting job opportunities there are, and hope it will ignite a spark of interest in making a career in the industry."

Improve national manager for Scotland, Jennifer Bryson, said: "The Schools Food and Drink Challenge is an excellent way of encouraging schools and food and drink manufacturers to work together more closely. It delivers a taste of genuine enterprise for the young people while also introducing them to the possibilities of attractive careers in the sector."

Over 50 Challenges have taken place throughout Scotland since 1999. The concept has been developed directly from the Simmers Challenge, a pioneering Education Industry Links (EIL) programme carried out by Castlebrae Community High School in Edinburgh and Simmers of Edinburgh.

Scottish Food & Drink is an industry-led initiative to help individual companies develop through shared experience and innovation. It is supported by the Scottish Executive and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and facilitated by Scottish Enterprise. It offers a range of programmes and support to help companies develop and maximise competitive advantage.