A national skills academy for food and drink manufacturing has been approved, skills minister Phil Hope has announced.

The National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing, a joint venture between government and the industry to address the skill-needs of the sector, will open in April 2007. It will provide vocational education and training for at least 28,000 employees during its first four years, addressing the specific needs of the industry and those who work in it.

The training will be delivered through a network of approved academy training centres, each contributing by its particular specialist area of expertise. The first five are: Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education (fish processing); University of Lincoln Holbeach Campus (FMCG); Poultec Training, Dereham in Norfolk (meat and poultry); Reaseheath College in Nantwich (dairy); and Johnson Diversey in Northampton (food hygiene).  More, with similar levels of expertise, will be added as the Academy expands.

Hope says: “It is vital that we continue to improve our capacity for learning by driving up skills levels in our home industries if we are to compete successfully in the global market.”

The Food and Drink Academy is a joint venture between Improve (the Sector Skills Council for the Sector) and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), which exists to make England better skilled and more competitive.