The next generation of food entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to combine a high quality degree and on-the-job training under plans for new food degree apprenticeships, environment secretary Liz Truss has announced.
The three apprenticeships - spearheaded by the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink (NSAFD) - are being developed by a consortium of employers and industry representatives working to enhance the sector’s productivity.
It is hoped that the creation of the degrees will help safeguard the UK’s position as a world leader in high-tech food innovation.
Last year the Government announced a target to treble the number of apprenticeships in food and farming by 2020 and the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has estimated that 109,000 new recruits are needed by 2022 in the food industry alone.
Around 60 per cent of the UK's food and drink exports go to EU countries, generating around £11 billion for the UK's economy.
Truss said:“We have a proud heritage in food innovation - from Fry’s first ever chocolate bar to HP Sauce. Today we outstrip France and Germany when it comes to exciting new food and drink inventions.
“Food and farming should be a top career destination for our young people, as prestigious as medicine, as fun and stimulating as the gaming industry and as cutting-edge as London’s Tech City.
“We are already seeing more skilled workers enter the industry – rising faster than other areas of manufacturing – and these new degree apprenticeship schemes will provide an even brighter future in an industry that generates billions of pounds for our growing economy.”
Angela Coleshill, director of competitiveness at FDF, said:“We know that there are significant skills challenges facing our industry, from an ageing workforce to talent shortages and specific technical skills gaps. Left unaddressed, these challenges risk undermining future productivity improvements in our sector.
'This is why, as an industry, we have set out a target to increase the number of apprentices in our workforce from one per cent to three per cent by 2020. Working with key partners such as the team at the UKCES, the NSA for Food and Drink and industry representatives, we have committed to a set of ambitious collaborative actions on skills and talent that will have a demonstrable impact on the productivity of the industry.”
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