Annual Review 2010: Promoting a British Success Story
A strong voice for the industry in Scotland
The focus of the Scottish Food and Drink Federation's work this year has been
to enhance the competitiveness of our industry by improving perceptions of the
industry and promoting it as a career destination of choice. Health and
wellbeing has
also been of increasing importance with SFDF playing a central role in
promoting
the interests of the industry in the Scottish Government's Obesity Action Plan.
SFDF
plans to build on the good practice already achieved within industry in areas
such as
reformulation. This work will be a major focus of SFDF in 2011.
In order to make our industry a career destination of choice, SFDF secured
funding
from Skills Development Scotland to promote careers in the industry. This made
it
possible to produce a new careers film, 'A Future in Food', which was screened
for
the first time at SFDF's annual reception in the Scottish Parliament in the
autumn.
The film features a range of young people employed in or aspiring to join the
food
and drink industry and has been popular with students in universities, colleges
and
schools.
SFDF also appointed a National Coordinator to manage our innovative schools
programme 'A Future in Food', as a result of making a case to the Scottish
Government for grant funding.
The schools programme is now brokering relationships between schools and
manufacturers across Scotland. The aim is to help pupils gain a better
understanding
of career opportunities in the industry and learn key skills that support the
Curriculum
for Excellence such as numeracy, communication and team working. Due to the
diverse nature of the food and drink industry, there are opportunities for
engagement
with many subjects including maths, science, IT, technology and home economics.
An advisory group of senior figures within industry, the Scottish Government,
Learning Teaching Scotland and further and higher education, provides guidance
and
input to the programme.
Our lobbying and policy work continued to be influential. We worked hard to
provide
Members of the Scottish Parliament with information to demonstrate that the
Proposed Limit on Trans Fat (Scotland) Bill is both unnecessary and scientifi
cally
unfounded. We were reassured to learn that the Bill failed to gain support and
as
such will not progress any further.
We also consulted our members on their priority issues before the Scottish
Parliamentary elections in 2011, so that SFDF could make a strong case for
members during the next five years of the new Parliament.
With over 200 members, the Cross Party Group on Food at the Scottish Parliament
has continued to be an effective forum for debate on food issues. SFDF
continues
to support the group by providing the secretariat. The role of the food
industry
in
delivering a sustainable Scotland was one of the themes covered. Our
contribution
to minimising impact on the environment, particularly through packaging
innovation,
was commended by Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead MSP.
Download the full PDF report: Annual review 2010: Promoting a British Success Story - pdf | 861kb
Annual review index: