Moves are afoot to revamp food safety qualifications in a bid to help manufacturers comply with new European hygiene regulations, which came into force this month.
Led by Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, the aim is to make qualifications more flexible and increase their relevance to employees in all sectors of the food chain.
Derek Williams, development director at Improve, claimed that because the current qualifications have been designed by awarding bodies with wide-ranging remits and little input from employers, they are too general.
“They have relevance across a number of sectors, from hospitality to retail, not just food manufacturing and tend to favour the catering sector,” said Williams.
Furthermore, added Williams, the needs of employees working in different sectors of the industry are often overlooked when delivery of the training is left to the interpretation of learning providers.
Improve is working on the project with eight awarding bodies, as well as the Food Standards Agency, and plans to use its knowledge of employers' needs to inform the content and structure of the new qualifications more specifically.
The changes could see the introduction of a new, higher level qualification, which may include specialist areas such as food safety auditing, food safety traceability and the management of food safety systems.
“The initial effect will be to make it much easier for employers to meet their responsibilities under the new European regulations, while in the longer term it will provide employees with more relevant and valuable qualifications to help them increase productivity and performance,” added Williams.
The aim is to have the first stage of the revamp - the content and structure - completed by the end of March, when the awarding bodies will take over. It is hoped the first revised qualifications will be available from July.
Williams added: “We are keen to ensure a smooth transition without any gaps.”