News article
19 March 2009
Apprenticeships key to food and drink industry's future
Back to list of articles
PRESS RELEASE
Responding to the Skills Commission's 'Progression Through Apprenticeships'
report, Angela Coleshill, HR Director at the Food and Drink Federation (FDF),
says:
“Demand for skilled workers in the food and drink manufacturing sector
continues
to rise, despite the economic downturn, and FDF believes that recruiting
apprentices is a great way to ensure the sector has a skilled workforce for the
future.
More and more food and drink companies are taking on apprentices, and the
industry's sector skills council, Improve, predicts food industry apprentice
numbers
in England will increase five-fold from just 400 in 2007 to 2,000 in 2012.
"However, the Skills Commission's report says careers advisors don't understand
employer demand for apprentices and we believe this must be addressed. Young
people need to have access to good quality guidance on the options available in
vocational training. This is true for apprenticeship schemes and also the new
14-19
Diplomas. It's also important that teachers' knowledge of apprenticeship
schemes
is improved, and as the report suggests, this could be achieved through a
partnership approach with the National Apprenticeship Service."
Improve has redesigned the apprenticeship framework for the food and drink
sector into a single, flexible framework which offers a choice of more than 500
units
of assessment covering skills needed in all sectors and all operational areas
of
the industry. Apprentices can choose to specialise in meat and poultry
processing, retail butchery, craft bakery, plant bakery, retail and service
support and
production control, choosing specific units as they go to make sure they
develop
the skills needed in their line of work.
"These qualifications are vital for our industry. While the company gains a
valuable staff member with the talent to make a difference to the business, the
apprentice gains the confidence, ambition and sense of value which goes
hand-in-hand
with earning a recognised qualification, inspiring loyalty and the drive to
take
their career further,” concludes Ms. Coleshill.
More Information
For more information please contact:
- FDF Press team
-
Keren McCarron on keren.mccarron@fdf.org.uk or 020 7420 7132
-
Rebecca Wilhelm rebecca.wilhelm@fdf.org.uk or 020 7420 7140
Back to list of articles