Nexnet

Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, is one of the first two industry bodies to win approval for Level 2 Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland, along with Construction Skills, the construction industry’s sector skills council. 

 

Unlike the rest of the UK, Modern Apprenticeships have only been available in Scotland at Level 3 since they were introduced in the late 1990s. But with apprentice numbers in some sectors dwindling, pressure has been on the government to expand the scheme, resulting in a pledge made in last year’s Skills for Scotland strategy paper to consider introducing Level 2 Modern Apprenticeships.

 

Maureen Watt, Minister for Schools and Skills, said: “The Scottish government is determined that all Scots can have the opportunity to develop new skills and Modern Apprenticeships are an important component of Scotland's learning environment. We are currently developing Scotland’s first-ever cross-cutting National Food and Drink Policy to help boost the industry. I am delighted that Improve have developed one of the first Level 2 MAs giving this important industry further support.”

 

Kelvin Thomson, Improve’s operations manager for Scotland, said: “This is very big news for Scotland’s food and drink industry and we are very pleased to be one of the first two sectors to get the go ahead. We have been arguing the case for a Level 2 Modern Apprenticeship for some time now to complement the existing Level 3 framework and to act as an entry level qualification for employees. The Skillseekers programme, which is the nearest thing we have had to a Level 2 Modern Apprenticeship, has seen learner numbers decline over the past three years, and we don’t believe it offers suitable progression on to a Level 3 Modern Apprenticeship.

 

“Historically, Level 3 Modern Apprenticeships have had limited take up in the food and drink industry. In September 2007, there were just 21 food and drink apprentices in the whole of Scotland. There are various potential reasons for this – half of all staff in food and drink work in jobs requiring skills no higher than Level 2, so you could argue that the current Level 3 scheme appeals only to a minority of employers and employees, and it can also be very demanding of an individuals’ time.

 

 “The advantage of a Level 2 Modern Apprenticeship is that it meets the specific needs of employers and employees alike,” continued Mr Thomson. “It will result in more people in the industry being able to gain a qualification they can use even as they are working towards, which will have a knock-on effect in terms of people’s aspirations and sense of achievement. The more skills, knowledge and confidence you can give a workforce, the higher their rates of attainment will be. This will help us reach out to underrepresented groups of workers who are perhaps starting off from a lower skills base, and who want to start building up their skills or shift their career direction. We believe it will encourage more small and medium-sized businesses to take on apprentices at a level immediately applicable to the majority of jobs being done. This in turn will have a real impact on encouraging employers and employees to take up higher-level training.”

 

Improve predicts that within three years the Level Two Modern Apprenticeship will attract at least four times the number of learners currently on food and drink-related Skillseeker programmes, with a target of 400 apprentices set for 2012. “That is the sort of boost in numbers the Scottish food and drink industry desperately needs,” Mr Thomson said. “A third of the current workforce is aged 50 or above, so we need to attract younger talent into the industry as quickly as possible – and we will only achieve that if we can offer better progression routes in terms of careers and training.”

 

The proposed framework for the Level Two Modern Apprenticeship in Food Manufacture follows the same structure as the revised Level Three Modern Apprenticeship successfully introduced by Improve last December. Apprentices will work towards a Level Two SVQ in Food Manufacture, which offers a flexible choice of more than 500 learning units and allows the training to be tailored to a specific job role. These options will be divided into nine distinct pathways covering specific sub-sectors and operations within the industry, including bakery, meat processing and butchery, and general food processing. Candidates will also be required to undertake further study or qualifications to complement the SVQ, with options ranging from food safety to English as a Second Language (ESOL), and will have to achieve core skills such as communication, numeracy, IT, problem solving and working with others. 

  

Ends

 

Improve is one of 25 sector skills councils established by the government to take the lead in driving up skills in the workplace in order to promote higher productivity and stronger competitiveness for UK businesses in the global market. Funded primarily by the government, sector skills councils are also supported by employers in their sectors, whose needs they represent when stimulating change among the providers of education and skills. Sector skills councils work closely with employers to promote greater commitment to improving skills in their workforces, and with schools, colleges, universities, and private training organisations to improve the provision of basic skills training and to make vocational and occupational training more relevant to the modern commercial climate.

 

Issued on behalf of Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, www.improveltd.co.uk, 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.