The head of food and drink sector skills council Improve has “cautiously welcomed” government plans to cut the number of skills bodies in order to make the system easier for employers to navigate.

Responding to the publication of the paper Skills For Growth - The National Skills Strategy, Improve chief executive Jack Matthews said there was plenty of room to simplify the skills system and said the proposals would be welcome news for many employers in the food and drink industry.

But he expressed some concern over the government putting a figure on the number of skills bodies facing the axe - more than 30 - prior to any consultation with industry.

Matthews said: “There is little doubt that the current skills system is unwieldy and in need of an overhaul. Employers are bewildered by the sheer number of different bodies responsible for different areas of skills, training and qualifications, and it is high time the whole system was made more stream-lined and user-friendly.

“However, I am concerned that the government has put a figure on the number of bodies it wants to cut - this suggests it has already made up its mind on which are to go. As the purpose of simplification is to make the system easier for employees and people seeking training to use, it should be done in full consultation with them, the customers. What we must get at the end of this process is a skills system which is fit for purpose to meet employers’ needs.”

Matthews said he was not concerned by indications that the government intended some bodies axed to be sector skills councils, as long as the needs of the food and drink industry were recognised.

He added: “What is absolutely clear is that the training and skills needs of the food and drink industry must continue to be represented by a dedicated body which can act as a voice for employers, a catalyst for reform and a central, employer-facing resource."