A new report has highlighted the role of workforce development in Wales' food and drink sector, with 497 businesses supported and more than 1,400 people trained through the Food & Drink Skills Wales programme over the past three years.
The report, Strengthening skills, supporting growth: A three-year impact report, records around 2,000 training interventions alongside engagement with more than 11,000 pupils across Wales.
The programme is delivered through the Welsh Government's Sgiliau Bwyd a Diod Cymru / Food & Drink Skills Wales initiative, which provides workforce development support and funded training to food and drink manufacturing and processing businesses.
Eligible businesses can receive up to 80% funding towards approved training, with Workforce Development Managers helping companies identify skills gaps and development opportunities.
Training businesses and their employees
The figures provide an indication of the amount of workforce development activity taking place within the Welsh food and drink industry.
Food businesses require skills across a wide range of disciplines, from manufacturing and food safety to engineering, management, marketing and technical development.
As businesses introduce new technology or develop new products, the skills required within their workforce can also change.
The Food & Drink Skills Wales programme is designed to help businesses identify those requirements and access training that supports their wider business objectives. According to the report, the programme's work has contributed to improvements in areas including productivity, leadership capability and operational resilience.
For smaller businesses in particular, external training support can provide access to development opportunities that may otherwise be difficult to organise independently.
More than 11,000 pupils engaged
The programme's work extends beyond existing employees.
More than 11,000 pupils have been engaged through careers activity, while 3,692 pupils took part in the Tasty Careers Schools Challenge. The programme also reports the delivery of 750 Food & Drink Career Passports.
The emphasis on careers reflects a longer-term challenge for the industry: ensuring that young people understand the range of jobs available within food and drink.
A modern food business can employ people in production, quality assurance, engineering, product development, logistics, sales, marketing and business management, among many other roles.
Introducing those possibilities to pupils can help broaden perceptions of the industry beyond the more familiar roles associated with food preparation or hospitality.
Connecting education and industry
The report also highlights the connection between businesses, education and training providers.
Food & Drink Skills Wales says the programme has worked with businesses to identify skills requirements while supporting young people to understand potential careers within the sector.
The report records more than 6,000 jobs advertised through FoodDrinkJobs.Wales and 59 case studies documenting business success.
Those figures sit alongside the training and careers statistics to demonstrate the breadth of the programme's activity.
They do not, however, establish that every intervention directly resulted in a new job, promotion or measurable increase in business turnover. The value of the programme is better understood as investment in the capabilities of businesses and people across the sector.
Building the future workforce
Skills development is unlikely to be a short-term issue for Welsh food producers.
Businesses need employees who can work with changing technology, meet regulatory requirements, improve production processes and respond to changing consumer expectations.
At the same time, younger people need to be aware of the opportunities available if the industry is to develop a sustainable workforce over the longer term.
The new report provides a three-year snapshot of activity rather than a guarantee of future outcomes.
What it does demonstrate is the scale of investment already being made in skills, training and careers across Wales' food and drink sector.
Sources
Food & Drink Wales - New report highlights how investment in people, businesses and future talent is helping to build a stronger Welsh food and drink sector
Food & Drink Wales - News and events
