National skills academy secured

Food and drink manufacturers have been catapulted to the forefront of the drive to boost skills and productivity for the whole of the UK, thanks to the success of a bid for major government funding, led by Improve, the sector skills council.

The sector has been awarded funding to develop one of the first four pioneering sector-specific skills academies. As the first national centre of learning dedicated to the food and drink sector, the academy will play a major part in addressing the problem of skills shortages in the labour market and skills gaps within the existing workforce, as well as setting new standards for other sectors to follow.

Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve, commented: "By establishing an academy, which will bring more highly skilled workers into the sector, we’re confident the UK can become the world leader in food and drink manufacturing productivity.

"Although Improve will manage its development, the academy will be led by employers, who will work to ensure that training courses and qualifications deliver key skills which are relevant to the sector’s needs.

"Employers will be invited to sit on a board of governance, where they will identify curriculum priorities to ensure the academy learning centres, known as Centres of Excellence deliver training which meets employers’ needs. The board will be headed up by a chancellor, whose role will be to champion the academy and raise awareness throughout the UK.

"We’ve already secured the support of trade associations and hundreds of employers and we’ve worked hard to create an effective model for what will be a highly successful academy. Our priority now is to set the wheels in motion and work to make the model a reality, with the academy up and running by September 2006.

"Our plan is to have the academy’s infrastructure in place within the next three months and an online resource up and running within seven months. By September 2006, we expect to see at least five centres of excellence in place, offering relevant training and linking to the active online resource. From there the academy will continue to grow, as more employers become involved, more academy learning centres are established as part of the network, and further training resources are developed.

"The network may include centres for specialist sub-sectors such as dairy, meat and poultry, seafood, bakery, brewing and distilling, confectionery, milling and cereals, and soft drinks."

It’s hoped that the network of centres of excellence will incorporate the existing six Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs) which specialise in food processing and manufacturing. Meetings are scheduled with the CoVEs within the next week, with the aim of reaching an agreement regarding their participation by December.

Talks are also planned to take place with Cranfield University, a specialist postgraduate academic centre, and Oxford University regarding the provision of training and their involvement within the Centre of Excellence network. A number of companies that offer training programmes, such as F&A Foods and Coca Cola Enterprises have also been identified as potential key learning providers.

At the hub of the network of centres of excellence, there will be a sophisticated virtual academy, which will provide a communications and information centre as well as offering opportunities for on-line learning, distance learning, and an on-line resource centre for learning aids.

Successful web hosting company My Knowledge Map has already been secured as the partner for the virtual strand of the academy. With four years experience of generating and maintaining the hugely successful web-based Retail Academy, their expertise will help short-cut development time and reduce costs.

In order to keep on schedule to have the academy up and running within the year, one of the first priorities is to recruit a four-strong team who will work solely to drive the development of the academy. The full-time team will answer to the board of Improve and will be in place by the end of November.

Over the coming weeks, further meetings are planned to take place with employers, trade associations, regional development agencies and educational bodies, to determine their levels of involvement and support in the development of the academy.

There will be further opportunities for employers to support the academy by sponsoring specialised centres of excellence and by supporting and buying products which have been tailor-made to increase their skills and productivity.

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