Improve – food and drink sector skills council: new qualifications to boost careers

Citation

(2008), "Improve – food and drink sector skills council: new qualifications to boost careers", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 38 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2008.01738aab.001

Improve – food and drink sector skills council: new qualifications to boost careers

Improve – food and drink sector skills council: new qualifications to boost careers

People seeking to start or develop their careers in food manufacturing can boost their chances of getting ahead through new vocationally linked qualifications launching in September.

Following a major reform of qualifications driven by Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, new courses are expected to be available that will lead to qualifications at Level 2, the equivalent of five good GCSEs, and at Level 3, the equivalent of two A-levels, initially from the awarding body City and Guilds.

Flexibility is the key to the new qualifications, which have mandatory core units that can then be built upon with additional units to develop an increasingly valuable qualification. At each level, students can gain initially an Award in Food Manufacture, which can then be expanded to a Certificate, and ultimately to a Diploma.

The Level 2 Award requires students to complete one unit of 100h of guided learning, whereas the certificate requires two units totalling 200h, and the diploma requires three units totalling 300h. At Level 3, the award can be gained by completing two units totalling 300h, the certificate requires four units taking 600h, and the diploma will require five units totalling 750h.

The additional units can be selected from a menu of options covering different functions of food manufacture such as technology, or different sub-sectors of the industry such as dairy, meat and poultry, bakery, or confectionery. The title of the qualification can also reflect these specialist areas, for example it could be a "Diploma in Food Manufacture (Meat and Poultry)".

The qualifications are expected to appeal to young people looking for a relevant course of study before seeking their first job in food manufacturing, as well as to those of any age who are already working in the industry, and want to develop their careers by acquiring knowledge and skills that are complementary to, or add value to their existing jobs.

It is expected that employers in England will be able to obtain funding for the Level 2 qualifications through the government's Train to Gain Initiative. Further information is available from the LSC by telephoning 0870 900 6800.

Detailed information about the new qualifications and about the colleges and other training providers offering courses will be published as soon as it is available through the new National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing, which launched online on 28 June at: www.foodanddrink.nsacademy.co.uk.

The new qualifications have been designed by a forum of qualifications awarding bodies in consultation with Improve and employers, and they cover units of learning derived from the new National Occupational Standards for food and drink manufacturing, which have been painstakingly revised over the last two years by Improve, also in consultation with employers. Following the launch of the new qualifications by City and Guilds, two other awarding bodies, Food and Drink Qualifications and ABC Awards, are also reviewing vocationally linked qualifications based on the new units of learning devised for food and drink manufacture.