Skills academy cash secured for industry

Improve, the sector skills council for the food and drink manufacturing industry, is celebrating this week following news that it has secured vital government cash for a sector specific skills academy.

The academy will be the first of four centres of learning dedicated to the food and drink industry, with the aim of addressing both the skills shortages in the labour market and skills gaps within the existing workforce.

The amount of money awarded to the sector will be decided once a business plan has been submitted, but could be anything up to £5m.

Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve, said: “By establishing an academy, which will bring more highly skilled workers into the sector, we’re confident the UK can become the world leader in food and drink manufacturing productivity.”

The new academy, which should be well underway within three months and up and running by September 2006, will be managed by Improve but led by employers to ensure the relevant needs of the industry are met.

It will form part of a network of centres, known as centres of excellence, possibly incorporating the existing six centres of vocational excellence (CoVEs), which specialise in food processing and manufacturing.

“The network may include centres for specialist sub-sectors such as dairy, meat and poultry, seafood, bakery, brewing and distilling, confectionery, milling and cereals and soft drinks,” added Matthews.

At the hub of the centres will be a virtual academy, which will provide a communications and information centre, online and distance learning opportunities and an online resource centre for learning aids.

A team is now being recruited to drive the development of the academy and should be in place by the end of November.