Employers urged to help shape new manufacturing diploma

Food and drink manufacturers are being given their last chance to get involved in the design of a new qualification for teenagers that could boost the skills of future employees.

Two consultation events on the design of the new Specialised Diploma in Manufacturing are being held in Leeds and London this month and next. Available for teaching from 2009, the diploma is being developed by the five manufacturing sector skills councils led by Improve, which represents the food and drink sector.

The diploma will put manufacturing on the school curriculum for the first time. Students aged 14 to 19 will be taught through a combination of practical work and technical theory at three different levels - the highest delivering a qualification equivalent to two A-Levels.

“The manufacturing diploma is part of a set of new qualifications that promise to transform secondary education,” said Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve. “Employers will start to reap the benefits almost immediately after it goes live, having access to a pool of employable recruits with a broad knowledge of the skills needed to work in manufacturing.”

Matthews claimed the diploma would “change the face of the next generation of the manufacturing workforce” and help boost productivity and profitability.

“However, in order to make sure the skills it delivers are applicable to the working environment, we need employers’ input and support at this stage of the diploma’s development,” he urged.

Companies including GlaxoSmithKline and Cadbury Trebor Basset had already provided input, added Matthews, but more were needed.

The full-day consultations will be held at The Parkinson Building, Leeds University, on Tuesday January 30 2007, and Woburn House in Tavistock Square, London, on Thursday, February 8. To book a place at either event, email radhvevrf@znahsnpghevatqvcybzn.pb.hx​, or for further information about the diploma, visit http://www.manufacturingdiploma.co.uk​.