Partner Article

High-tech tool for new qualifications in the North East

A guide to help North East food and drink manufacturers design qualifications for their staff has been launched on-line. The launch of the ‘Pick YOUR Mix’ interactive tool coincides with the introduction of a new framework for National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) in food and drink manufacture.

David Hickman, North East operations manager for the food and drink skills council Improve, said: “Ultimately, this is all about improving the skills of the workforce and increasing profits by raising performance. Food and drink manufacturers in the North East have one of the best reputations for training their staff in the country, with three out of four employers offering some form of training over the past year. Yet around one in ten claim they have hard-to-fill vacancies because of shortages in skills in the workforce overall, so clearly more needs to be done to boost the uptake of training.

“Our aim in reforming the NVQ framework has been to achieve this by giving employers what they want - ease of access and control over what their staff learn. We have gathered all the tools an employer needs to tailor a nationally-recognised qualification to their own requirements in a convenient, accessible place. All the employer has to do is go on-line and have a look.”

The new framework is intended to make NVQs more relevant to the workplace by offering a choice of more than 500 learning units covering all aspects of the industry, meaning employers can tailor the qualifications to suit job roles.

The ‘Pick YOUR Mix’ tool helps by matching brief descriptions of job roles to the most suitable options available, suggesting a best-fit programme of learning designed to meet the skills demands of the job.

If you want to find out more, the ‘Pick YOUR Mix’ tool is being hosted on the Improve website - www.improveltd.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .