Funding for £4.2m project will help food and drink workers improve skills

by Tina Crowson - 03/11/2010

"EMPLOYERS in the food and drink sector in South Devon who are looking to improve the skills of their workforce can be met halfway in the funding stakes — thanks to a successful multi-million pound bid."

Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, has been successful in securing a project worth £4.2m for the South West based on funding half of the cost of training employees in the food and drink industry.

Employers will match the remaining 50 per cent.

The Joint Investment Programme, operated by the Skills Funding Agency, is designed to bring together private and public investment in 50-50 match-funded plans to support training and skills development in areas key to economic recovery and future growth.
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Food and drink manufacturing employs 37,200 people across 1,200 workplaces in the South West, many of which are well-known brands such as Rodda's Cornish Clotted Cream and Wrigleys' Extra chewing gum.

Improve's successful bid allows the buying in of the skills employers want and use its own training providers.

Food and drink employers who want to take advantage of the matched funding for employee training are being urged to get in touch with Improve's sister organisation the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing which will be responsible for the project.

Liz Pattison, head of skills solutions for Improve and the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing, said: "This is a unique opportunity for employers to seek financial support for key areas of strategically important business activity and is the first step to getting greater employer control of public funding for skills.

"The programme is designed to support employers in moving into new markets and taking up new technologies. It provides a mechanism for them to develop and deliver programmes of training where workforce development is a key step in taking advantage of those new market opportunities and of new technologies. Research by Improve shows that the UK food and drink industry needs to fill around 45,000 higher level skill or professional occupations by 2017 and employers have identified that it is technical, practical and job-specific skills which need to be improved most in the next two to three years."

She added: "This 'half-and-half' funding is not only available towards full qualifications but also individual units at levels 3 and 4 which means employers are being supported in addressing very specific skills needs. This is something which Improve has been pushing hard for because our food and drink industry needs a choice of training solutions which will deliver real benefits to businesses.

"Pre-packaged qualifications don't always address the specific skills needs of an individual business so there is a degree of inefficiency about them. Linking funding to skills attainment through individual units means employers can be confident that they are getting bespoke training directly relevant to their business needs and the government can be sure that public money is being used more efficiently to target specific skill shortages."

The programme will only be delivered by training providers which are approved by the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing.

"Employers will be able to work more closely with our providers to better develop a network of provision that meets their needs," said Liz. "Overall we expect the programme to address skills gaps, meet new skills needs and increase investment in developing technician and professional skills to deliver real impact on economic growth in the food and drink industry."

For further information, go to www.improve-skills.co.uk or email Liz Pattison at: liz.pattison@foodanddrink.nsacademy.co.uk

More Details: http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/Funding-163-4-2m-project-help-food-drink-workers-improve-skills/article-2828030-detail/article.html