2012 Achievements - 20/20 Vision for Growth
Reflections, achievements and opportunities
Melanie Leech - FDF Director General
When the Food Manufacturers' Federation
was formed in 1913, its members could
not have conceived of the changes 
that
would take place in the food and drink
industry over the following century. But
they would have recognised some of
the key advantages that the UK industry
enjoys today. The quality and value of our
products, our branding, our innovation, and
the demand for our products both at home
and abroad were as much a part of a
successful food manufacturing sector 100
years ago as they are today.
And whilst our understanding of many of the scientific issues impacting on
our industry has also transformed in the last one hundred years, I hope our
predecessors would also recognise FDF's four key pillars of activity – food
safety
and science; health and wellbeing; sustainability and competitiveness - as
being
the right agenda for the twenty-first century industry.
Through 2013 we will celebrate everything the industry and the Federation has
achieved in the last century. Taking our inspiration from the past we'll also
be
looking to the future with a continued focus on how we can create the right
environment for our members' businesses to thrive, working together with
government to overcome the challenges to growth and keeping the UK at the
forefront of product and process innovation.
To do this, the industry will also need to attract the best talent. Through
our
careers campaign Taste Success we will continue to bring to life the range of
opportunities our sector offers - in areas as diverse as engineering, marketing
and communications, sales, HR or logistics. And I believe our partnership with
Sheffield Hallam University to create the first food and drink engineering
degree
exemplifies the practical approach of our industry to finding solutions to
important
issues such as skills gaps.
FDF's Centenary means that we can reflect on our past achievements, while
relishing future opportunities. I hope that you will join us as we celebrate
100 years of FDF and the Great British success story of food and drink
manufacturing.
Owen Paterson - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As our largest manufacturing sector, the
food and drink industry has a key role to play
in helping Defra realise its twin ambitions
of growing the economy and improving the
environment. That's why we are committed to
working with FDF to realise its vision of growth
of 20% for the sector by 2020.
Increasing skills
and getting new people into the industry is vital,
not just to this ambition but for the future of the
sector as a whole. The doubling of the number
of new apprenticeships in food and drink over
the past year is a huge achievement and one
of which the industry should be proud.
Like
FDF, we want to encourage sustainable growth
through the use of world class science and
new technologies while taking advantage of the
growing global demand for high-quality UK products. FDF's continued
contribution
to the Exports Action Plan is essential to exploiting these opportunities. I
look
forward to working with FDF on this shared agenda.
Research and Development
Launching our vision for innovation
FDF and the National Technology
Platform for Food launched their
vision for innovation in food and
drink manufacturing at a packed
meeting of the industry's All Party
Parliamentary Group in October.
The vision calls for the development
of an agri-food strategy, improved
understanding of the sector by
research councils and government
departments, new funding models
for collaborative research and a
revision and simplification of the
R&D tax credits system.
Speaking
at the launch Science Minister
David Willetts (right) recognised
the importance of the industry and
committed to work with Defra to
reflect its needs in the forthcoming
agri-tech strategy.
Find out more about innovation
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Exports
Seventh year of consecutive growth
The 2012 Olympics provided the perfect platform to showcase food and drink.
Following the launch of the Export Action Plan at the turn of the year, FDF
worked closely with UKTI on the Food, Drink and Retail Business Summit and
with Defra to deliver an international press briefing led by the Secretary of
State.
The industry was also able to celebrate a seventh consecutive year of export growth
when Minister for Trade and Investment, Lord Green addressed FDF's
annual dinner.
Looking to next year FDF will work with UKTI to encourage more
businesses to export, working directly with UKTI's overseas commercial offices
to
identify new opportunities.
Find out more about exports
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Groceries Code Adjudicator
Industry poised to work with new Adjudicator
The long-awaited GCA Bill has made good
progress through Westminster thanks
to cross-party support for the legislation
and the already established Groceries
Code.
Having met with new BIS Minister
Jo Swinson, FDF is now also working
with officials to establish how industry
might interact with the Adjudicator and
how it might assist in the development of
guidance for suppliers.
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Graduate Excellence
Industry set to launch first Food and Drink Engineering Degree
The first dedicated food and drink engineering degree will revolutionise our
industry and create the steady pipeline of employment-ready engineers that
we need to help us meet the challenges outlined in our 2020 Vision.
This year,
working in partnership with the National Skills Academy, we invited
universities
from across the UK to compete for the role as our partner in the project and
the
UK's first centre of excellence for food and drink engineering. After a
competitive
pitching process, Sheffield Hallam University was selected to host the new
degree.
Our high-level project team, comprised of representatives from partner
organisations and from the food industry, is steering us through the project's
key
milestones. We are progressing fast to both develop and market the new degree
to prospective entrants in time for its first intake in autumn 2014.
Find out more about Graduate Excellence
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Responsible Growth
Continued achievements in health and the environment
In launching the 2020 Vision, FDF has been clear that the pursuit of increased
growth must be sustainable, under-pinned by a continued ambition to reduce the
industry's impacts on the environment and to play its full part in public
health.
To show leadership on sustainability, manufacturers also are looking to reduce
their impacts beyond the factory gate and as the FDF's Environmental Ambition
celebrates its fifth birthday, the Sustainability Steering Group has just
produced
'Five Steps Towards a More Sustainable Supply Chain'.
Many FDF members have supported the Responsibility Deal on Public Health and
delivered further reductions in salt and calories while also developing
ambitious
Health at Work programmes.
FDF will showcase examples of members' activities
to improve public health in a report titled 'Delivering Healthy Growth'.
Find out more about sustainability
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Taste Success
Engaging with young people to change perceptions
Our industry-led careers campaign to attract new
talent to UK food and drink manufacturing is a
key part of our 2020 Vision. Through engaging
directly with young people, teachers, parents
and careers advisers, we are working to raise
the profile of our sector and to make it a career
destination of choice.
In March we launched our
digital campaign which
includes engagement via
FaceBook, YouTube and
Twitter. Within six months Chilli
Baby, one of our three fun
Taste Success promotional
videos had already broken
the 30,000 views barrier and
been requested for use by
schools and colleges trying
to promote careers in food
manufacturing.
In 2012 we
also took our campaign direct
to over 80,000 people by
exhibiting at such high profile
events as the UK's leading
engineering and science event
for young people - the Big
Bang Fair in March, and at
Skills London in November.
Find out more about Taste Success
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Apprenticeships
More than doubling numbers 2012
Apprenticeships are one of the
key ways that we recognise
that we can attract talent for
the future to our sector as part
of our Vision.
Less than a year
after committing to double the
number of apprenticeships
offered in our sector through our
Apprenticeship Pledge, we have
exceeded our target, more than
doubling numbers to over 4,700.
Fundamental to this success
was promoting the benefits of
apprenticeships to businesses,
both big and small, across the
UK.
In 2012, working alongside
industry partners the National
Apprenticeship Service and Improve - the National Skills Academy for food and
drink, we took our Apprenticeship Roadshow to Birmingham, Edinburgh, London
and Preston.
Find out more about the apprenticeship pledge
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