The new Green Card Scheme for recording and promoting employee skills within the food and drink sector has been positively received by the industry, said makers, Improve.

The latest advocates are Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association, a leading training organisation, which has been accredited as an official verifier.

Trade associations, job centres and education institutes are also reported to have been quick to support the idea, which offers a “passport to the industry” for potential employees.

Launched by the food and drink sector skills council, the scheme issues a credit-card-sized card with a photograph and number, which employees can use to access their details online.

With permission, accredited training providers will supply updated information to the database as the holder reaches additional levels of skill. Employers can also view the details in order to verify the skills of prospective employees and to plan personal development programmes for their staff.

The scheme is an independent record of skills and achievements and information can be transferred from one employer to another. This means employees won’t have to repeat training, saving businesses time and money.

Supporting the idea, Jobcentre Plus, the government job agency, is funding the basic training required for jobseekers to qualify for an entry-level green card. The British Soft Drinks Association and Deeside College in North Wales have also both recently pledged their support.

“The response from these organisations has been swift and decisive,” said Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve. “They recognised straight away the value of the scheme, and have been clamouring to get involved at the earliest opportunity. It’s the first UK-wide scheme of its kind for our sector and we believe it will make a significant contribution to driving up the skills of the workforce at all levels.”

Improve are presenting the Green Card concept to colleges of further education, with the aim of encouraging them to become verifiers, and preliminary talks are under way with food manufacturers who have expressed interest introducing the scheme to their employees.

To qualify for a Green Card employees must have relevant skills achievements, which vary depending on the type of job they do. New entrants to the sector, such as school and college leavers, the unemployed, career changers, and migrant workers, will be required to undergo mandatory, entry-level training modules, in subjects such as food hygiene and health and safety, before gaining their Green Card.

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