People and employment

As part of National Apprenticeship Week, the Secretary of State Bridget Phillipson has announced today new English and maths requirements to boost skills and support employers.   

Employers will now be able to decide whether adult learners, over the age of 19 when they start an apprenticeships course, will need to complete a level 2 English and Maths (GCSE) qualification.  This a significant win for the FDF and its members. According to the Department for Education (DfE), this could allow up to 10,000 more employees to take up an apprenticeship each year. 

The FDF has been calling for these changes to functional skills requirements for some time to increase participation in Apprenticeships, particularly for older, more experienced workers, and allow apprentices to focus on the core skills relevant to their role. Apprentices will still be assessed on core English and maths skills relevant to their occupation.

These changes will come into effect immediately and we’ve received confirmation from DfE (via Skills England) that it will apply to both new and existing learners, but this will be subject to certain eligibility criteria. We understand that the new apprenticeship funding rules will detail further guidelines on eligibility and application once published. DfE colleagues are also planning to produce a help tool alongside this.

Other key points to note:

• The reduction of the minimum duration of an apprenticeship, from 12 months to 8 months. Pending legislative measures, these shorter apprenticeships could be introduced as early as August 2025.
• Confirmation of the new Skills England team:
• Phil Smith, former chair and CEO of Cisco, will chair Skills England with Sir David Bell as Vice Chair, currently Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Sunderland.
• Sarah Maclean and Tessa Griffiths will be taking up the role of Chief Executive Officer in Skills England.  We know Tessa Griffiths from her previous DfE role.

For more information, please contact caroline.keohane@fdf.org.uk.  We will shortly be confirming the next meeting of FDF’s Employment and Skills Forum to discuss next steps on Skills England’s reforms and the Growth and Skills Levy.

ESF - Next Steps

Following up from our last Employment and Skills Forum on 5^th November and member’s expression of preference in creating two separate groups – each one focusing on the Forum’s key priority areas, (a) Skills and Education and (b) Employment & Workforce, we have circulated our proposal, outlining the Forum’s structure for the next 12-18 months.

We would be grateful for member’s feedback on our proposal by Monday 27 January. Members are also welcomed to suggest director-level nominations for potential chairs of the two separate workstreams, with an interest in chairing either group. Please contact Tanya for more information.

Existing ESF members are requested to contact Iliana to indicate which group(s) they wish to participate in and also notify if new colleagues would be interested in participating in either group/ any broader company contacts (e.g. legal teams) who would like to be included on general updates across both workstreams.

National Apprenticeships Week 2025

This year’s National Apprenticeships week is 10-16 February. We would love to hear from our members for any planned activities you have which we can promote via our channels. FDF will be doing some social media and it would be great to connect with our member’s activities. Please contact us by Monday 3^rd February with your plans/ideas.

ACAS coming up events

ACAS has a number of employment law and best practice related trainings coming up which might be of interest:

• Having difficult conversations (face-to-face): 30 January at 9:30-16:00 (in person- Cambridge) [Practical guidance, with role play activities, on how to handle difficult conversations with employees]
• Changing terms and conditions of employment: 25^th March at 9:30-12:30 (online) [The legal obligations and good practice for implementing a change to employment terms and conditions]
• Contracts and written statements: 2 April at 9:30-12:30 (online) [The legal obligations and good practice for implementing a change to employment terms and conditions]

You can browse more training options for various topics on different times and locations on ACAS website.

Low Pay Commission Regional Visits

The Low Pay Commission have announced the dates for their regional visits for this year.

• Dundee on 19-20 March
• London on 15-16 April
• Swansea on 14-15 May
• Exeter on 11-12 June
• Newry on 2-3 July
• Newcastle on 6-7 August

Full details are available here. If you are interested in hosting a visit you can contact the LPC directly at lpc@lowpay.gov.uk or 07341 098734.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Microsoft are hosting an online free event on 15th January at 11am-12pm to raise awareness of some of the Digital Accessibility Tools available through mainstream technologies. All employers interested are welcome.

Employers will learn about the Digital Accessibility Tools available through mainstream technologies, and how they can help people with a disability or health condition. This could potentially open new possibilities around the recruitment, retention, and job design for current and new employees.

Join the call via this link: Digital Accessibility Tools - Employer Event

For any questions, please contact: partnership.networkandprojectteam@dwp.gov.uk

Before the Industry Growth team heads off for the holidays, we wanted to share a few updates on recent publications and event of the past few weeks including a Skills England webinar on Advanced Manufacturing Skills, the DWP White Paper ‘Get Britain Working’,  the MAC Annual report and a report on compliance and enforcement of the National Minimum Wage in 2024.

If you have any questions on the below, Tanya will be working until lunchtime on 24^th December, and we will be back at work on 2^nd January. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season, and look forward to continuing to work together in 2025. 

Caroline, Tanya and Iliana

Skills England Advanced Manufacturing Skills webinar

On 25^th November, Skills England hosted a webinar on Addressing Skills Needs in Advanced Manufacturing with 44 attendees including a few representatives from food and drink manufacturing and officials from the Department of Education.

Skills England covered key points from its recent report: Skills England: Driving growth and widening opportunities. A few points to note:

• Advanced Manufacturing definition: Production processes that integrate advanced science and technology, including digital and automation, to manufacturing. Importantly ‘advanced’ refers to production processes rather than product.  FDF is working closely with DBT and Defra to ensure food and drink is included in the advanced manufacturing priority sector of the government’s Industrial Strategy.
• The manufacturing sector has the third highest skills shortage density (behind social care and education sectors) – with 42% of all manufacturing vacancies being hard to fill in 2022. Existing key shortages from across the sector include: metal machining setters and setter operators, sheet metal workers, welding trades, electroplaters and laboratory technicians.

Feedback from employers in the session included:

• Skills gaps are not consistent across even Advanced manufacturing - sub sectors are different but there are consistencies e.g. engineering

• Important to note regional differences and the lack of consistent funding 
• Perception of Manufacturing adds to the labour & skills issues
• Standards need to be broader - the move away form frameworks have led to a narrowness which isn't always helpful
• A plea not to change the whole skills system – there are some things that work well and we’d want to keep – and to ensure that changes are incremental – evolution not revolution
• Importance of Level 7 Apprenticeships and higher technical skills that will be needed for economic growth (one of the government’s key missions)
• Massive please to simplify the system for SMEs and ensure there is sufficient funding for them 
• Need to link demand to supply of training provision rather than just leaving to market forces
• Need for a flexible modular system for upskilling 

Skills England and Department of Education officials are now taking feedback away to review and provide advice to Ministers this month.

DWP ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper

In November 2024, the Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pension, published the Department for Working and Pension White Paper ‘Get Britain Working’.  The White Paper sets out the different approach the labour government is taking to tackle the employment rate fall, transform the health system, assess the economic inactivity and drive investment.

Key findings from the paper:

• In the last five years Britain's employment rate has fallen significantly, noting the key role of the existing health system and its inability to support people of all ages with long term health issues.
• The government plans to take action and achieve an 80% employment rate, restoring Britain's former economic activity.
• To achieve this, the focus will be to break down barriers to opportunity and rebuild the labour market.
• The new Industrial Strategy and Local Growth plans, the Plan to Make Work Pay and its intention to bring together skills and health to reform the employment support via the newly presented White Paper, are key to reach its goal.
• The Paper also recognises the impact that Covid-19 has had in the economy along with demographic and technological changes.
• Amongst the key areas the government is planning to take action in are:
• contribution of the NHS,
• local support by mayoral authorities,
• delivery of a Youth Guarantee,
• creation of a new jobs and careers service and
• the role of UK employers in promoting and maintaining a healthy work environment.

The Government will bring forward a Green Paper in spring 2025 recognising the need for a change to the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain,. In its effort to fix the foundations of the economy, the government will work closely, across devolved administrations, with Jobcentre Plus, the National Careers Service, several providers and voluntary organisations and more, including colleges, universities, trade unions and the NHS.

Migration Advisory Committee Annual Report

On 17^th December, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published their annual report outlining the findings from their various commissions from 2024, including the creation of the Immigration Salary list and a review of the Graduate Route. It also covers an analysis of current migration data with recommendation to support the government’s policy to reduce net migration.

Key findings from the report include:

• Net migration between 2021 and 2023 was unusually high, mainly as a result of increased international students and non-European Union (EU) work immigration through the Skilled Worker route (most noticeably in health and care occupations).
• Linking immigration and skills policy is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach and it is important to consider the individual circumstances within sectors and occupations, including diagnosing whether shortages are genuinely driven by lack of skills or are due to poor pay and conditions of certain roles.
• Increasing the level of skills in the domestic labour pool does not guarantee a reduction in the reliance on the immigration system as migrant and domestic workers area not perfect substitutes and employers will often still seek the best possible match for their vacancy, which may be an international recruit.
• Therefore, the impact of investment in skills on immigration will vary by sector and occupation.

Interesting facts from report:

• From the 2022 sector-level data,  the proportion of vacancies in a sector caused by skills shortages were most concentrated in:
• Construction (52%)
• Information and Communications (43%)
• Manufacturing sectors (42%)
• Institute for Fiscal Studies estimate that average employer spending on training has fallen by 27% in real terms between 2011-2023.
• Falling apprenticeship availability in the UK is part of a landscape of falling investment in domestic training.

Future Work:

• The Home Secretary has set out the intention to launch a new Quad framework between the MAC, Skills England , the Industrial Strategy Council (ISC) and Department for Work and Pensions to address systemic long-term issues that have led to reliance from certain sectors on international recruitment, and where appropriate to reduce that reliance.
• MAC have asked government for greater clarity on how the Devolved Government’s will be included in the Quad Framework.
• In order to link devolved skills policy with immigration policy (stated as a goal of government), the different approached to askills across the UK and how the interact with a UK-wide immigration system must be considered. However if these challenges are no addresses, it could lead to unintended consequences for parts of the UK’s labour market.

Low Pay Commission report on Compliance and enforcement of the National Minimum Wage in 2024

On 19^th December the Low Pay Commission (LPC) published their annual report on compliance and enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW).  The report recognises that with the new government a period of transition has begun with the Employment Rights Bill and the proposal for the creation of a new single enforcement body, the Fair Work Agency (FWA).  The FWA would bring together enforcement of the NMW alongside other workers’ rights.  The LPC sees this as an opportunity to address the shortcomings of the current approach to enforcement, but recognises that design and approach will be key to ensure that the new enforcement body works effectively.

The headline finding of the report is that an estimated 371,000 workers were underpaid in April 2025. This is slightly increased from 2023 but is below the estimated numbers from the pre-pandemic period.  Looking at the sector breakdown, food processing showed only slight increase in minimum wage underpayment levels of the adult rate since 2019, but with overall numbers lower than most UK sectors.

Key recommendations to the Government include:

• Government is urged to ensure adequate information is available for employees to know where and how to complain about underpayment.
• Government should look at improving the guidance on work type and the differences in calculated working time between salaries and unmeasured work.
• Ensure more regular naming rounds to create momentum and increase coverage.
• Expand the data HMRC collects on its caseload including:
• Whether underpayment is formal or informal
• The characteristics of underpaid workers involved
• The working arrangements of underpaid workers

On 16^th October Sheffield Hallam University’s National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering is bringing partners across industry and academia to celebrate their 5 years of collaborative research and innovation in the food sector.

The event will include:

• Discussion on topics crucial to our sector including skills, recruitment, innovation and finance.
• The chance to meet NCEFE’s academic experts
• The opportunity to give a 2-minute challenge pitch
• Example of successful collaborations between NCEFE and industry
• A tour of the NCEFE specialist facilities for food research and innovation
• Presentations from SHU doctoral researchers on their current ground breaking research.

The event will be at the National Centre for Excellence for Food Engineering on Wednesday 16^th October, 9:45-13:45.  Tickets are free, and you can register your place here.

Future Planet, a collaboration network, is looking at how best to support organisations to identify and develop Green Skills.  The group, which includes senior leaders from several cross-sector organisations and representatives from the UK Government green skills task force, have pulled together a simple survey to understand what companies are already doing, and opportunities for future support and collaboration. 

If you are interested, please complete this 5 minute Green Skills survey*.

*Specific data will be seen by the working group, but individual companies won’t be referenced in any public disclosure, however please feel free to anonymise your responses if preferred.

Women in Manufacturing Equality, diversity and inclusion survey and interview request

The University of Cambridge Women in Manufacturing UK Initiative has opened an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion survey. The survey aims to improve our understanding of the landscape of initiatives promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I) in manufacturing and to assess the extent to which increasing diversity in manufacturing could contribute to address skills shortages. The survey is now open online and should take between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. The deadline for completing the survey is 10 July 2024.

Women in Manufacturing Annual Conference

The ED&I survey will be presented at the Women in Manufacturing Annual Conference on 19^th September 2024 at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry. You can register for the event here.

Employment and Skills Forum meeting, 8^th July 14:00-16:00

Following the General Election on 4^th July, FDF’s Employment and Skills Forum will be meeting to discuss the implications of the new government and agree potential areas of focus moving forward, including the Apprenticeship Levy, wider skills policy reform and employment rights.

Additionally, the Forum will hear from Fiona Miller, IGD, who is leading the Food and Drink Sector Council sector attractiveness national campaign. This will be an opportunity for members to learn about the communications campaign and toolkit to attract more people into our industry and to understand how they can get involved in the nationwide initiative. 

You can view the Agenda here.

All full FDF members are welcome to attend, and can register here. Please contact Iliana if you have any issues registering.  If you would like more information about the meeting and who can join, please contact Tanya.