Recent research published by IGD has found that 80% of food manufacturers and retailers expect to increase their training and development budget per head over the next ten years.

The research, unveiled by Joanne Denney-Finch, Chief Executive, IGD, at the IGD Food & Grocery Employment and Skills Summit, also revealed that:

• One fifth (19%) of companies expect their training and development budget to increase by more than 25%
   
• 'Leadership' was a top priority for over half (55%) of the companies questioned, when asked what the key areas were for skills development in their businesses
   
• When asked to predict how the balance of in-house versus externally delivered training will have changed by 2020, answers were evenly split between 'more in-house' (32%), 'no change' (30%), and 'more external' (32%)

Joanne Denney-Finch comments: "Food is the largest manufacturing industry. In Britain, the food industry is truly world class. It is recognised in every country as a centre of excellence for its operating standards, consumer focus and pace of innovation. Along the chain, we employ 3.6m people - that’s one in seven of the workforce. Even in tough times, it's crucial for companies to keep investing in skills and harness the talent and energy of a new generation. This will be an exceptionally challenging decade and the future is in our hands."
 

	Food & Grocery Employment and Skills Summit

The Employment and Skills Summit in London brought together key decision makers from food and grocery to address the issues of unemployment and wasted skills potential in the UK. The Summit covered three central themes including skills gaps, youth employment and staff development. Both Asda and Sainsbury's used the event platform to launch two new initiatives in these areas.

Asda has launched a new retail programme especially for young people, helping them gain experience and develop the skills they need to climb the career ladder. The supermarket's commitment means that from May, Asda will open its doors to up to 15,000 kids aged 14-16 for the chance to experience a week's worth of real work, as well as giving 15,000 of its existing colleagues the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised apprenticeship.

As part of the scheme, every single one of Asda's stores will be adopting a local school or college to help introduce young people into the world of work. The programme, which was shaped by interviews and focus groups with more than 100 young people across the UK, means that they’ll get the opportunity to discover real work - from the challenges of stock control and the logistics of delivery, to the delights of customer service and working in the community. Andy Clarke, Asda's Chief Operating Officer, said:

"One million people under the age of 25 are unemployed, and it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. That’s why I’m determined that we do everything we can now to help young people get a foot in the door., This is about giving them a hand up, not a hand out. Despite having the lowest turnover in the industry, due to our size, we’ll also recruit 22,000 new people to join our business and fill existing vacancies. Combined with the 6,000 new jobs we’ll create this year that adds up to nearly 60,000 opportunities for young people at Asda."

Meanwhile Sainsbury's is to create the UK’s first supermarket bakery college. The college, in Wellingborough, has been created in partnership with flour supplier, Whitworth, and is based on site at one of Whitworth’s bakeries. The new facility will speed colleagues through NVQ training in half the time it currently takes, reducing the time from 12 months to 6 months, meaning qualified bakers will be sent into stores more quickly. College training will be available to everyone who works in the bakery, not just apprentices. In his speech, Sainsbury's Chief Executive, Justin King said:

"The college will get more qualified bakers into our stores more quickly, which will improve the quality of our offer at the same time as providing our colleagues with the skills they need to carve out a long and rewarding career in retail. This is just one of many initiatives through which we provide our colleagues with skills and training. We believe that the investment in our bakery colleagues will enable them to continue to deliver the fantastic quality and high level of customer service our shoppers expect."

Download a summary of the key points made at the summit here.