Scotland Food & Drink Skills Advisory Group Action Plan - Update on Activity

Want a short and snappy update on the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership's progress on skills in the industry?

You can hear it from Moira Stalker here, or read on...

The food and drink industry regularly tells us that its workforce is its biggest asset - which is why people and skills sit at the heart of the Scotland Food & Drink (SFD) Industry Strategy.

We all know the sector still faces a tough image problem alongside real challenges with recruitment and retention.

To tackle this, the Scotland Food & Drink Skills Advisory Group (SAG) launched the Food and Drink Skills Action Plan back in 2020. A lot was delivered, but a lot also changed with Brexit, Covid and funding shifts. Because of that, it refreshed the action plan last year.

Many of you shared your views during a consultation, so SAG wanted to share what it has done since listening to your feedback.

It tested its research with SAG, industry partners and stakeholders at various events and review sessions to make sure it reflected the real needs on the ground. It then published a report late last year detailing its findings.

SAG couldn’t tackle everything from the research all at once, so it has focused on identifying key priorities and setting clear timelines for delivery.

The four key priorities it has identified are laid out in this graphic, under the initial report’s main findings.

Sub-groups have been formed for each, with High Value and What Employers Want combined under one sub-group, and it is now working on all of these actions.

Looking forward

Having identified four key priorities, by June 2027 SAG hope to achieve:

• Influence the influencers: end result - influencers are positively promoting careers in food & drink
• Skills landscape: end result – well-informed employers, based on skills policy which it acts on effectively
• Define industry understanding of “high value” jobs: end result - a list for SAG of future highly valued jobs and the skills required to support these roles
• Identify what industry is looking for and what future employees: end result – evidence-based report for SAG with recommended actions

This work will shape how it supports the sector moving forward.

But that is not all…

While all that planning was happening, the SAG was still busy on the ground:

• Careers resources: delivered its new physical resource, “Who Makes a Can of Soup”, to every state secondary school in Scotland (all 361) alongside Developing the Young Workforce.
• Global Burger Challenge: partnered with Quality Meat Scotland on a school challenge to help pupils learn where their food comes from and how it gets to the table.
• Curriculum input: joined the Curriculum Improvement Cycle to ensure school learning aligns with real industry needs.
• Industry ambassadors: continued recruiting Scottish Food & Drink Ambassadors to showcase the sector as a great career path.
• National representation: continued championing the sector at national skills and workforce forums.

In the background, SAG is continuing its work around:

• Scottish Food & Drink Ambassadors
• School resources for teachers and pupils that support professional development and promote informed career choices 
• Curriculum updates
• Good Food Nation initiatives

If you want any more information, get in touch with Moira Stalker, Skills Manager at the Food & Drink Federation Scotland.