UK industry faces increased demand for skilled workers

The forecast is contained three reports produced by Improve, an agency set up by government to address the problem.

The UK's food and drink industry has one of the most poorly qualified workforces in the UK, according to Improve. About 19 per cent of the sectors workforce has no qualifications, compared to the average of 11 per cent for the total UK workforce.

One third of staff in the processing sector have no qualifications at all. In addition there is a significant under-representation of females to males. Males make up two-thirds of the sector's workforce compared to the national average where males make up a little over a half of the entire UK workforce.

As part of a bid to solve the shortage, Improve announced this week that an assessment of the skills shortage in the industry has been completed. The Skills Needs Assessment (SNA) is the first stage of the food and drink manufacturing Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) being developed by Improve.

The SSA is an agreement between employers, the government, partner organisations and Improve to deliver an agreed action plan to meet the most pressing skill needs of the sector.

"The overall aim is to drive improved business performance by recruiting the right people with the right skills delivering them to the right place at the right time,"​ Improve stated in its monthly newsletter.

The development of the SSA is made up of five stages. The SNA is the first stage and provides an assessment of the current and future skill needs for the food and drink industry. It is made up of three reports. One is on the key trends driving the food and drink manufacturing sectors.

Another report examines the current skills needed in the sectors. The third report forecasts the future skills demands in the sectors.

The SNA reports found that 52 per cent of the current workforce has qualifications below those needed in the industry, or no qualifications at all. Another 28 per cent of employees only have basic skills, Improve found.

The increasing automation across the industry means different skills are required from the workforce. With production lines becoming more complex and demanding the shortage of skilled workers in the UK industry is acute.

The scenario forecasting showed that the food and drink industry needs to recruit 118,000 more employees to fill current job roles opened by the existing workforce retirement or migration to other industries.

Stage two of the SSA will focus on assessing current training programmes meant to supply the food and drink manufacturing sector with skilled workers.

"The assessment will review the extent and quality of current provision and whether existing supply is sufficient to meet short-term and long-term skills needs of the sector,"​ Improve stated.

Improve plans to complete the assessment by the end of this month. The agency plans to complete the full SSA by the end of this year.

Full versions of the three SNA reports are currently being developed and will be published shortly, Improve stated.

Last year Improve created created an accredited system to help employers check the qualifications of potential employees. The "Green Card" system provides employees with a record of the accredited training they have taken in the industry.

The UK'S food and drink manufacturing sector employs somewhere between 500,000 and 900,000 staff, or about 1.6 per cent f the total UK workforce.

Improve was established in July 2004 by the Skills for Business Network and is sponsored by the UK's department for learning and skills.