Parliamentarians get a taste of careers in Food and Drink
14 May 2013
Parliamentarians get a taste of careers in Food and Drink
Today, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Food and Drink Manufacturing met to discuss how building the skills base in the food and drink sector can be a significant driver for economic growth, and the important role Government can play in helping the sector achieve its potential.
The Group heard from Food and Drink Federation (FDF) President Jim Moseley, who provided an overview of the role of skills in FDF's vision shared with government to grow the sector by 20% by 2020.
He highlighted the proactive work of the industry in quadrupling the number of apprentices in the industry since the summer of 2011 and working in partnership with the National Skills Academy to launch the first food and drink engineering degree in the UK at Sheffield Hallam University.
John Stevenson MP Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Food and Drink Manufacturing Group said:
“The right skills mix has the potential to make a significant contribution to both the growth of British food and drink manufacturing, and to the UK economy as a whole. It is great to have the opportunity to meet with businesses who have successfully increased the number of apprenticeships they are offering young people and who have worked with FDF to tailor the new food and drink engineering degree to the needs of the industry."
FDF President Jim Moseley said:
“In 2011 we committed to work with Government to deliver 20% growth in food and drink manufacturing by 2020. Improving our efficiencies, keeping ahead of competition with our product and process innovation and driving growth through exports will help us to realise our vision but the key ingredient will be the recruitment of the most talented young people supported by employer-led skills development. We are already on that journey and having quadrupled the number of apprenticeships in food and drink last year we are now focused on the next phase of our apprenticeship pledge and the start of our new food engineering degree in September 2014.
Business Minister Jo Swinson said:
"More than quadrupling the number of apprenticeships in the food and drink industry in the last two years is a fantastic result. The sector is one of the UK's key drivers of growth and apprenticeships will help to ensure we have a pipeline of talent to meet demand in the future. Applying for funding through the Government's Employer Ownership Pilot (EOP) is also a great way of making sure the industry is getting the skills it needs."
Notes for editors:
- The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is the voice of the food and drink manufacturing industry – the UK's largest manufacturing sector.
- More information of the FDF 20/20 vision
- More information on FDF's Apprenticeship Pledge
More information
For media enquiries, please contact:
Anna Taylor on 0207 420 7118 Email: Anna.Taylor@fdf.org.uk
Avni Raval or 020 7420 7131 Email: Avni.Raval@fdf.org.uk
For FDF's policy positions and background on key issues, go to our Policy section.
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