Companies are being slow to take advantage of the new Apprenticeship Levy that came into effect in April, claims Bis Henderson Academy, which offers training programmes for supply chain and logistics professionals.
Bakkavor has kicked off National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) by revealing it will take on 40 new apprentices this year in manufacturing, engineering, development and HR roles.
The ‘best of the best’ in the meat and poultry industry were recognised last week (February 21) at The Institute of Meat (IoM) and Worshipful Company of Butchers (WCB) Annual Prize-Giving.
Food and drink manufacturers are to benefit from fully-funded training and apprenticeships from the Freight Transport Association (FTA), to tackle shortages of skilled heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers.
The government’s final funding proposals for the apprenticeship levy have been welcomed by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, which said it was “a significant step forward”.
Baxters Food Group in Fochabers, Scotland, has been celebrating the graduation of 11 candidates on its award winning training and development programme ‘Talent for the Future’.
The Apprenticeship Levy is at risk of “turning back the clock” on progress and is “poorly designed” according to business leaders, as the government launched a consultation on the funding of the levy.
Almost one-in-five businesses are likely to cut employee numbers to meet the costs of the Apprenticeship Levy, finds an industry-wide survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Pearson UK.
Apprentices are vital to plug the food industry skills gap, says the Food and Drink Federation, while the Confederation of British Industry has slammed the government's latest apprenticeship plans.
A lack of knowledge about food industry careers, misconceptions about manufacturing and a dip in apprenticeships are the three barriers blocking women from starting careers in the food and drink manufacturing sector.
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.
Aberdeen-based soups and condiments manufacturer Baxters has bolstered its commitment to developing skills in Scotland’s food and drink industry through its Supervisors for the Future programme.
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.
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 industry needs more skilled employees and it needs them quickly. But is there a coherent training and careers regime? Gary Scattergood investigates
As 1,700 jobs are at risk at Vion’s West Lothian plant, the Scottish government’s First Minister Alex Salmond has pledged to “travel anywhere and meet anyone to try to protect Scottish jobs”.
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.
Northern Foods plans to build on its credentials as a food industry skills champion by upgrading its operations academy to form a degree-level training centre.
Preserves maker Duerr's has put its workers through their paces via the government-funded Train to Gain programme. All 120 production line workers at...
