New diploma for 14 to 19-year-olds
Back to Diploma in Manufacturing & Product Design news
13th Nov 2008
Leading food company backs new diploma
A leading supplier of ready-made chilled foods has declared its support for a pioneering new qualification that promises to help teenagers engage with the world of manufacturing.
Irene Burrows, HR manager at Cheshire-based Gibsons Foods, has become an employer champion for the 
Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design, which is set to launch in September 2009. One of the government’s new qualifications for 14 to 19-year-olds, the manufacturing diploma has been developed to equip young people with the skills and knowledge needed to pursue a career in industry, and will be taught from a curriculum designed in partnership with manufacturers. The diploma will sit alongside traditional academic qualifications, with students dividing their time between classroom, college, and real work environments. It will be delivered by consortia – approved partnerships of local schools, colleges and employers, whose involvement will vary from providing work experience or hosting site visits, to keeping teachers up-to-date with industry developments.
Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design, which is set to launch in September 2009. One of the government’s new qualifications for 14 to 19-year-olds, the manufacturing diploma has been developed to equip young people with the skills and knowledge needed to pursue a career in industry, and will be taught from a curriculum designed in partnership with manufacturers. The diploma will sit alongside traditional academic qualifications, with students dividing their time between classroom, college, and real work environments. It will be delivered by consortia – approved partnerships of local schools, colleges and employers, whose involvement will vary from providing work experience or hosting site visits, to keeping teachers up-to-date with industry developments.As employer champion, Irene is tasked with raising awareness of the qualification and encouraging more companies to become involved in its delivery. “It’s not a job I’m taking lightly,” she said. “I truly believe the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design is absolutely integral to the future success of the food and drink manufacturing industry, but it can only work with the full support of employers.”
One key area where the manufacturing diploma has the potential to bring real benefits is that of recruitment. As an industry characterised by an ageing workforce, a looming skills crisis threatens food and drink manufacturing, which is set to lose 56,000 workers by 2015 due to natural wastage. The need to recruit young blood has never been more urgent, but employers face an uphill struggle in trying to dispel the myth that food and drink is dirty, low-skilled and low-paid.
This, believes Irene, is where the diploma will help. “This is the first time that there has been a genuine opportunity to bring to life the realities of working in food and drink for school-age children,” she said. “Of course there will be some who won’t be convinced of its merits, but for many, it will open their eyes to the wealth of exciting opportunities available.”
Gibsons already practises what it preaches, working to actively engage with young people. The company has recently started hosting week-long work placements at its Ellesmere Port facility, for local school pupils aged between 15 and 16. It also hosts school visits, giving groups of up to 30 pupils a tour of the factory, including an opportunity for them to have a go at baking bread in the company’s industrial bakery.
“Our school visits always go down well,” said Irene. “They generate real excitement among the pupils, and it’s great to give them some hands-on experience. They get so much more out of it than they would by just watching a DVD about a food factory. The staff on the factory floor are all supportive and want to be involved – they see it as a great opportunity to show off!”
“The success of the tours inspired us to develop the new work placement opportunities, which we’re really excited about,” she continued. “The students will spend one day in each of the factory’s areas to provide an overview of the whole production process. It will give them a true taste of the industry, and will help them to identify which aspects they’re good at and may be interested in pursuing.”
It’s this type of activity that Irene believes can generate real interest in the local community, helping to boost recruitment. She said: “I’m confident that our efforts will encourage more young people in the local area to consider coming to work here. On a national level, the manufacturing diploma offers the perfect solution. It will help to co-ordinate and formalise the type of activity we do here at Gibsons, by building relationships between businesses and schools and colleges. It’s a fantastic opportunity to give us, the industry, access to the workforce of tomorrow while they’re still young and open-minded about their future.”
Gibson’s Foods is one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of fresh sandwiches and chilled foods. It employs more than 350 staff at its manufacturing facilities in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and Devizes, Wiltshire.
For more information, visit the website for the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design, at http://www.manufacturingdiploma.co.uk/.
Image caption: Training young people in the food and drink industry
Issued on behalf of the Manufacturing Diploma Development Partnership, by Nexnet PR, Leeds, www.nexnet.co.uk. For further information call Nexnet on 0113 247 0029 or email katrina.gill@nexnet.co.uk or paul.newham@nexnet.co.uk.