Nestlé has thrown open its factory doors to teachers to give them a taste of modern apprenticeships in a bid to help them communicate the career opportunities in the sector to young people.
Manufacturers need to be part of the solution to bridging the food and drink sector’s skills gap, the director of the government’s Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has said.
The government has increased support for a skills strategy proposed by the National Skills Academy for Food & Drink (NSAFD) that will initially see food science become a priority area for apprenticeships.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has praised the government’s new skills campaign, highlighting the positive impact apprenticeships have had on preparing new recruits for food industry careers.
UK-based food and drink firms are investing in jobs as much as internationally-owned outfits, according to Owen Paterson, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) secretary of state.
Two key achievements of National Apprenticeship Week were to foster industry co-operation on the campaign to attract more youngsters and to focus the government’s attention on the sector, says the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
Food and drink manufacturers should send teenage apprentices into schools to inspire youngsters to choose the right qualifications to launch a career in the industry, as part of a new approach to careers advice, says George Eustice, food and farming minister.
Recent food and drink sector apprenticeship figures have shown about 3,500 apprentices starting a programme each year for the past two years; this is a good build on previous years, where figures hovered around 500 – 1,000.
The skills gap in the food and drink manufacturing sector has not shrunk, despite the latest government statistics showing that UK unemployment overall has fallen.
By choosing the right apprenticeship framework and with appropriate training and guidance, young apprentices can facilitate a change in workplace culture helping to lock-in and sustain continuous improvements, providing a valuable resource for the future.
An alliance of the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IOPP) in the UK, the Processing and Packaging Machinery Association (PPMA) and Food and Drink Federation (FDF) aims to have a new apprenticeship scheme with a packaging technology focus in place...
The industry needs more skilled employees and it needs them quickly. But is there a coherent training and careers regime? Gary Scattergood investigates
Food and drink manufacturers have welcomed two surveys from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) that underline the value of apprenticeships for youngsters and employers.
The number of people starting a food manufacturing apprenticeship soared by 96% in 2011/12, according to the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), which urged new starters to enter the National Apprenticeship Awards.
The German experience could teach the UK a lot about making careers in manufacturing more appealing to new recruits, according to engineering giant Siemens.
Closing the yawning food and drink industry skills gap by attracting the next generation of industry scientists, engineers and technicians is the top priority of the new director of the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink (NSAFD) and the sector...
UK food and drink manufacturers are on course to double the number of apprenticeships in the industry by the end of this year, said the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
The role of apprentices in food and drink manufacturing and the challenge of attracting new young talent dominated debate this month on the industry’s Linkedin forum The Food and Drink Manufacturing Network – powered byFood Manufacture.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has launched a series of apprenticeship roadshows across the country to encourage food manufacturers to take on more apprentices.
The role of apprentices in food and drink firms – particularly small- to medium-sized enterprises – is much misunderstood, David Williams, md of speciality baker Butt Foods told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
Leading manufacturers Britvic and Nestlé have started recruiting for their 2012 apprenticeship programmes in a bid to support the Food and Drink Federation’s (FDF) pledge to double the number of industry trainees by the end of the year.
Details emerged last month of action the food and drink industry is taking to address the impending skills shortage. A staggering 137,000 new recruits are needed to replace people who will be retiring over the next five years. This represents around 34%...
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is urging food manufacturers to sign up to its apprenticeship pledge and contribute to the growing number of opportunities in the food and drink manufacturing sector.
Grimsby has been associated with fish since Viking days. The first training probably occurred then. Today, it's provided by the Humber Seafood Institute (HSI) part of the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education.
Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has welcomed news that Dutch meat processor Vion is to create 250 new jobs at a new training centre at its Hall's plant in Broxburn, West Lothian.
Jobs in the food and drink manufacturing sector look set to become more attractive, thanks to plans to create a novel series of professional qualifications. Employees will be able to map out their career paths from the shopfloor to the boardroom and build...
Britain’s food supply chain is gearing up to raise its profile in the corridors of power, emphasising its wealth and job creation importance to the country’s economy.
Processors have rushed to back a two-year project to develop basic courses in skills such as maths, English and IT for workers in the food and drink...
Food and drink sector skills council Improve has launched an online hub for its National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing.The service...
