FOOD and drink manufacturing bosses in the South-West are set to benefit from a pioneering new training initiative, following the online launch of the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing.
The £4.4million academy is the culmination of more than two years of research, planning and development by leading employers, co-ordinated by Improve, the sector skills council for food and drink.
The academy is set to revolutionise the way training is delivered in the sector, helping to strengthen the South-West's food and drink manufacturing industry, which employs around 36,500 workers in 1,200 companies.
"The skills academy is a vital step in meeting the skills challenges that the food and drink manufacturing sector faces," said Dawn Neale, Improve's operations manager for the South-West.
"It has been designed by those in the industry, and it will provide an effective and accessible system to deliver high-quality, relevant training."
Following the launch of the academy's online training and information centre, employers can now access a wealth of information designed to help deliver training to their staff, including a tool that easily locates available funds for skills development.
From September, there will be a selection of courses available to buy directly through the website, from short Learn Direct modules in subjects such as basic hygiene, to more in-depth courses designed specifically for the academy.
Training courses are also being delivered through a network of physical Academy Centres, which have been accredited to offer relevant, high-quality learning programmes for their particular specialist area of excellence.
There are seven accredited Academy Centres so far, with bases in Grimsby, Dereham in Norfolk, Lincoln, Nantwich in Cheshire, Northampton, Billingsgate, Fleetwood, North Shields and Leeds.
It's anticipated that 35 Academy Centres will be accredited within the next three years, with at least one in the south-west.
This is only the fourth of the government's new-style National Skills Academies dedicated to industry sectors to launch, and it is expected to help set the template for many more to follow in other industries.
The Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing can be accessed by logging on to www.foodanddrink.nsacademy.co.uk
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