Helping employers to drive up profits through skills
17th Jun 2010
Food and drink is the career for women with high aspirations
Women wanting a career with prospects and opportunities to rise through the ranks should consider the food and drink industry.
As the industry is dominated by men - the male share of the workforce is expected to rise from .jpg)
67 per cent to 74 per cent by 2017 according to the latest Working Futures survey - the industry is looking at ways to support women build a successful career and show them that opportunities do exist.
67 per cent to 74 per cent by 2017 according to the latest Working Futures survey - the industry is looking at ways to support women build a successful career and show them that opportunities do exist. Clare Keegan, business development manager at Improve and the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing, explained why women should consider the industry as a career option: “As well as the shortage of women within the industry generally, around a quarter of those who are employed in food and drink work part-time which also impacts on progression into supervisory and management positions. There is a real need to address this gender imbalance and unlock the talent women have for the future good of the industry. There are skills gaps and shortages in every sector of food and drink, and the industry needs to recruit around 60,000 extra people to management, professional and technical positions by 2017. We think women in our industry have what it takes to step up and fill these positions.”
The National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing and Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, are working to address the shortage of women in the industry and provide them with skills which will allow them to climb the career ladder. They have secured funding to launch a newly-developed Women and Work training programme which is more flexible than the initiative which was first made available to food and drink companies in 2006.
Food and drink employers in England can now apply for grants of £650 which can be used to help fund a broad range of training, qualifications, short courses and coaching in a bid to give women better access to higher paid, higher skilled careers.
Clare added: “Increasing entry and retention of women at all levels, improving opportunities for career progression and increasing earning potential can play a vital role in addressing skill gaps and shortages in the industry, and the Women and Work initiative has been developed to provide a solution which will reach out to women right across the industry.”
There are only 125 subsidised training places available for the food and drink manufacturing sector. Activity funded under the scheme is divided into three strands: Women in Industry – supporting access and retention of women in male-dominated sectors; Women in the Lead - supporting career progression into supervisory and line-management roles; and Women in Business - supporting increased earning potential for women.
Training under the initiative will be funded through a matched contribution arrangement. Training programmes will have to cost a minimum of £750 to be eligible for the subsidy, with employers asked to fund the difference. In addition, employers will be required to make a contribution in kind – for time, travel, accommodation, facilities and other resources.
For further information contact Clare Keegan via email at: clare.keegan@foodanddrink.nsacademy.co.uk
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Note to editors
The National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing is an employer-led organisation, which was set up in 2007 and is being developed to provide the food and drink industry with the training it needs to drive up productivity and competitiveness within the sector. The National Skills Academy is part of Improve Limited, the Sector Skills Council for the UK food and drink sector.
It has a growing network of approved training providers, which include both publicly and privately funded learning centres located around the country. Each member of the network delivers some aspect of skills for the food and drink manufacturing industry as whole, and/or specialist skills for one or more of its various sub-sectors. Members undergo rigorous quality checks and have to demonstrate a continuous commitment to offering the food and drink industry the expertise and specialist knowledge it needs.
Issued on behalf of the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing www.foodanddrink.nsacademy.co.uk by Nexnet PR, Leeds, www.nexnet.co.uk. For further information call Nexnet on 0113 247 0029 or email paul.newham@nexnet.co.uk.
