Speaking to FoodManufacture.co.uk at the Foodex exhibition in Birmingham, Improve chief executive Jack Matthews called on the coalition to ease certain standards of compliance within the industry and allow firms to further engage with young people.
Matthews, who is also chairman of the National Skills Academy for food and drink manufacturing, believes the current standards prevented young people from gaining access to certain areas of the sector. If these were eased, this would create greater opportunities for all stakeholders, he claimed.
Also featured in the video, which followed the HR Forum seminar at Foodex, are Matthews’ thoughts on the work that still needed to be done by employers to plug the skills gap in the industry, and how long that was likely to take.
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