Advice for Career Planners with Food Allergies

 

Louise, our Marketing Manager, is a fully-qualified Careers Adviser. We thought it might be helpful to offer some advice for people with severe food allergies who are planning their entry into the world of work or their next career move. These are simply pointers, and we recommend discussing your plans with a careers adviser before dismissing any long-cherished ambitions just because of advice read on this page.

 

If you have a severe food allergy, careers in the hospitality (catering) or food and drink production sectors may be out of bounds, unless you can confidently expect full training and career development in a niche business catering for people with the same allergies as you.

 

Careers in social care (caring for children, disabled or elderly people) may also prove to be difficult, as a major element of these jobs is feeding those children or adults for whom you are caring. If you can find training and employment with an allergy-aware nursery you may, depending on the severity of your allergy, be able to overcome any difficulties, however there would obviously be an issue with duty of care if both yourself and a child in your care went into shock as a result of contact with the same allergen.

 

Careers in the airline industry, as cabin or cockpit crew, could be a non-starter for peanut allergy sufferers, unless you can secure a job with an airline that has banned peanuts from all flights (Anaphylaxis Campaign offers more information on flying with food allergies).

 

Many people with food allergies also have asthma, eczema, hay-fever, dust allergies or sensitivities to other chemicals. In view of this, the following careers need extra thought beforehand. The best way to assess the risk of these options is to call 3 or 4 employers in the industry and ask for their thoughts on managing your particular allergic responses within their working environment.

 

 

Carpenter, joiner, wood machinist, cabinet maker or French polisher

carpet fitter, cleaner or sales-person

Clothing technologist, textile operative or dyeing technician

Construction labourer, demolition operative, stonemason or cement mixer

Engineering craft machinist or machine operator

Florist, gardener, forestry worker, park ranger or greenkeeper

Hair stylist, trichologist, beauty therapist, make-up artist, nail technician or model

Home Economics, Craft & Technology, Science, Biology or Chemistry teacher

Industrial, domestic or street cleaner, refuse collector or chimney sweep

Jockey, groom or riding instructor

Nurse or nursing assistant

Painter & decorator

Pharmacist or pharmacy technician

Photographer, photographic technician, sculptor or model maker

Physicist, chemist, materials, food or forensic scientist

Safety officer, trading standards officer or pest controller

Shipwright or welder

Technical brewer or bottler

Vehicle valet or body repairer

Veterinary surgeon or nurse, animal technician or pet groomer

Water or sewage treatment works technician or operative