Leicester College appointed bakery training champion

The college will lead the development of bakery training courses and strengthen its contacts with the UK bakery sector, an NSA spokesman told FoodManufacture.co.uk.

Leicester College was chosen because of its length of membership within the NSA’s academy network, its track record of helping the bakery industry and the strength of its faculties’ industry connections.

Justine Fosh, NSA director, said: “Leicester College had been an academy member for several years and we have total confidence in the college’s ability to collaborate with both employers and fellow bakery training network members to underline the continuing authority of our skills solutions.”​

Bakery network training​

 ​The college will head bakery training for all of the UK. Part of its role will be to ensure that the NSA’s bakery network training reflects the latest trends in consumer demands for baked goods and key industry changes.

The NSA is responsible for creating a network of training providers across the country, said an NSA spokesman.

David Thomas, Leicester college business delivery manager, said: “We have the capability to design bespoke bakery industry courses and our facilities are able to reproduce specific skill sessions for the bakery industry.”​ The college operates a full food-manufacturing suite.

Those training at the college will be encouraged to enter national competitions and join societies such as the Alliance of Bakery Students and Trainees in order to develop their own industry contacts.

Leicester College launched work-based training services for food and drink in 1997. It now has more than 28,000 students studying a wide range of industry-related courses.

The NSA is part of the food and drink sector skills council, Improve.

Other network champions include:

• Reaseheath College for dairy,
• CQM Training for food manufacturing excellence and leadership and management
• New line Poultec training for poultry
• CenFra for robotics,
• The Seafood Training Academy for seafood.

The NSA is still searching for champions for its commercial, drinks, engineering and maintenance, logistics, fresh produce, sustainability and innovation, technology and science networks.

Free half-day conference​

Meanwhile, plugging the skills gap in UK food and drink manufacturing is the subject of a free half-day conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on the morning of Monday March 26.

The Skills for a changing world ​event will focus on how food and drink manufacturers can attract and retain the next generation of young talent.

Also topping the agenda will be presentations from the Food and Drink Federation on actions to raise the industry’s image and the National Skills Academy on new training schemes.

To book your free place at this event, organised by our sister publication Food Manufacture ​and the Institute of Food Science and Technology, contact Hannah Rosevear on 01293 610431 or email Hannah.Rosevear@wrbm.com​