News article
1 October 2012
Food & Drink Apprenticeship Roadshows 2012 - Last Stop, Scotland
Back to list of articles
PRESS RELEASE
The Food and Drink Federation's (FDF) Apprenticeship Roadshow's next and final
stop for this year will be in Scotland on Thursday 25 October at the Hilton
Edinburgh Airport Hotel. Food and drink businesses interested in finding out
more
about apprenticeships or looking to expand their existing programmes are
welcome
to
attend.
This free event will give companies the opportunity to find out what Modern
Apprenticeship frameworks are currently on offer and what funding is available
in
Scotland. Our Roadshow partners, the Scotland Food and Drink Skills Academy and
Skills Development Scotland, will be on hand to provide advice as well as a
commitment to visit company sites after the event to assess skills gaps and
possible
solutions. Attendees will also have the opportunity to share their experiences
of
apprenticeships, as well as hear direct from Devro (Scotland) on their
apprenticeships.
FDF's Apprenticeship Roadshows are a key part of the industry's commitment to
double the number of apprenticeships in the sector by the end of 2012.
Throughout
this year, Roadshows have been taken to London, Birmingham and Preston.
Nationally, the Roadshows have been delivered in partnership with the National
Apprenticeship Service and the National Skills Academy for food and drink, and
are
intended to inform food companies of the benefits apprentices can bring to
businesses,
such as increased productivity and a more motivated workforce.
Register for this event online
Angela Coleshill, FDF Employment, Skills and Corporate Services Director, said:
“As an industry we are taking collective action via such means as our
Apprenticeship Pledge and our targeted campaign - Taste Success – A Future in
Food, to
help build a pool of talented apprentices that can be developed and deployed
across
the industry – building skills for the future."
“Our regional Apprenticeship Roadshows have been a great success this year and
are an important way to get food and drink businesses on-board with
apprenticeships. They are great forum for sharing ideas and best practice
amongst companies,
and for interested companies to learn more about what's on offer.”
Justine Fosh, Director at the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink,
said:
“The National Skills Academy for Food and Drink and Scotland Food and Drink
Skills Academy is delighted to be supporting the FDF's Apprenticeship Pledge.
In
the
past apprenticeships have been seen as mainly relevant to engineering roles but
this is simply not the case now – there are now apprenticeships for the food
sector that cover the whole range of job roles in our industry – from craft
baker
to continuous improvement manager, meat processor to milling operative.
“As specialists in food industry training, and as part of Improve, the
organisation that designs modern apprenticeships for our industry, we can
assist
any food
business interested in modern apprenticeship activity. We are offering all FDF
members, as part of the pledge, a personal visit and free one to one advice
session to help them get started or expand their apprenticeship activity.”
Gerry McBride, Industry Manager (Food & Drink) at Skills Development
Scotland
said:
“The Food & Drink Skills Investment Plan aims to support employers in the
industry with workforce development, Modern Apprenticeships play an important
role in
attracting new talent into the sector and increasing skills levels. Over the
past few years we have seen great success in the number of new Modern
Apprenticeships in the industry, events like this will help us build on that
success”
Note to Editors:
- The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is the voice of the food and drink
manufacturing industry – the UK's largest manufacturing sector.
- Registration details: FDF Apprenticeship Roadshow, Edinburgh
Scotland Food and Drink Skills Academy
- FDF launched an industry pledge in 2011 to double the number of apprenticeships
in the industry in England and Scotland to 3400 by the end of 2012. It has
since
been working with companies to make it easier for them to navigate through the
process of setting up apprenticeships and arranging training and study.
- Further information on the Scotland Food and Drink Skills Academy
- Further information on Skills Development Scotland
More information
Nicki Hunt on or 020 7420 7132 - nicki.hunt@fdf.org.uk
Rebecca Wilhelm or 020 7420 7140 - rebecca.wilhelm@fdf.org.uk
Back to list of articles