Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, has announced the imminent launch of an industry-wide master plan to boost skills in food and drink manufacturing.
Introduced in January next year, the new Sector Skills Action-plan (SSA) is a guide on how to alleviate skill shortages, which result in skills gaps and unfulfilled vacancies in the sector.
The initiative is part of a recent government instruction requiring all 25 of the UK’s skills sector councils to develop a bespoke plan to promote higher productivity and stronger competitiveness for UK businesses in the global market.
In food and drink manufacturing, Improve says the new plan will be the overarching guide that determines the programme of skills development in the sector.
Jack Matthews, chief executive at Improve, the body responsible for coordinating the training needed to meet the plan’s objectives, said: “The task of devising, managing implementation, and continuously developing the Sector Skills Action-plan is without doubt our most important function.”
The guide will be compiled from a year of extensive research into training in the sector gained from consultation with employers, public and private training bodies and government departments, all of whom will agree the plan prior to its launch. Improve says the plan will then be reviewed and updated as necessary to meet employers’ changing needs.
“This is the first time that the sector has had the opportunity to have a properly co-ordinated plan to boost skills in order to drive up productivity and profitability. So far the response to our initiatives from all parties involved has been excellent, and we are working extremely hard to ensure that the training provision is properly reformed to address the needs of employers,” Matthews added.
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