Having led the design and delivery of several Trailblazer Apprenticeships we’re in a good place to help. Within the ftc group we have first-hand experience of working with key government departments. We understand the ‘end to end’ approvals process so can provide employer groups with the technical support to navigate through bureaucracy and get things done.
Everything you need to know about food industry apprenticeships is right here on our apprenticeship pages. Simply select the apprenticeship you’re interested in from the drop-down list and it’s just a click away.
If your workforce needs training backed by qualifications or an apprenticeship, we’ll support you in making your case for the relevant programmes to be developed.
Our experience in vocational education makes us pretty good judges of skills training centres. We also have solid connections with apprenticeship training providers nationwide. This means we can help match up your staff with food training courses that teach the skills you need.

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How we can help employers

Being an employer in the food industry today is getting tougher every day. Recruitment, organising training or taking on an apprentice can seem like hard work. Yet it’s a must if you want to stay ahead of the competition. Here’s how we can help.

Despite being the largest manufacturing sector in the UK the food industry often has to work hard for government recognition and support.

In December 2020 the government announced a package of support which included the Lifetime Skills Guarantee (LSG), a £95m fund to provide over 400 fully funded level 3 qualifications. This became the National Skills Fund, with a 3-year time frame and £1.6bn budget. Yet the food industry was left out in the cold – no food manufacturing qualifications were included.

Within 24 hours of the announcement ftc lodged an appeal directly with the Secretary of State for Education. We later went on to co-ordinate an industry campaign to get key food technology courses added to the list. The campaign achieved widespread media coverage and in summer 2021 forced an about turn from the Department for Education.

Two key food technology courses are now part of the LSG and fully funded by government:

FDQ L3 Diploma in Food Technology, and,
FDQ L3 Diploma in Food Technology and Management

The fight continues – currently ftc are pushing hard for level 2 food qualifications to be maintained and supported. See Christine Walsh’s interview in Food Management Today here.

Standing up for the food industry in action