Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, has secured government funding to map out a set of National Occupational Standards (NOS) which will define the knowledge and skills all employees should have to make the industry as a whole and individual businesses more sustainable.

After an initial period canvassing employers’ opinions on the key issues facing the industry and hearing evidence of best practice, Improve has now drawn up a draft set of standards for employers’ further consideration.

Once completed, the standards will be used to develop qualifications and training programmes aimed at boosting sustainable practices at every level of every food and drink business.

Patrick McDaniel of specialist food and drink consultant RI Training is leading the project on behalf of Improve. He said: “When we talk about sustainability in industry, we’re referring to issues like saving energy and reducing impact on the environment through reducing water usage, waste and emissions, as well as things like ethical trade and corporate social responsibility. But all of these also affect the sustainability of businesses themselves, i.e. whether they are efficient and lean enough to survive in the long-term, so it is something which many companies are taking very seriously.

“The draft standards we have drawn up can be divided into three broad categories - strategy, implementation and practice. These reflect the different stages involved in making a business more sustainable - from drawing up a sustainability policy, to managing its implementation, to practising it on a day-to-day basis. The standards also reflect the different kinds of skills and knowledge that different people in different roles might need, from directors charged with drawing up a strategy, to middle managers responsible for its implementation, to operatives asked to incorporate it into their day-to-day activities.”

Derek Williams, development director at Improve, said: “There are myriad reasons why the food and drink industry must become more sustainable and more environmentally friendly and it is certainly a big challenge for us all. This is a priority area for Improve, and as well as developing NOS in sustainability, we are also in the process of developing a network of training providers that specialise in training for sustainable skills as part of the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing. The new standards will be an invaluable tool for these providers in helping them to devise and design courses which address skills needs specified by the industry itself.”

Anyone interested in taking part in the consultation is invited to contact Patrick McDaniel by email at patrick@ritraining.co.uk. Employers will also be able to view and offer opinions on the draft standards at two workshops on sustainability in the food and drink industry scheduled for late January, one to be hosted at the Food and Drink Federation’s London headquarters on January 21, the other at Improve’s offices in York on January 27.

For further information, go to www.improve-skills.co.uk.

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