2020 has seen UK Food & Drink Manufacturing businesses operating under the highest levels of pressure. The resilience and adaptability of the industry to ensure our communities are kept safe throughout these uncertain times has been nothing but short of phenomenal, and a testament to UK history.

Maintaining relationships between Colleges and employers is an integral part to driving the local economy and with employers now at the forefront of creating Apprenticeship standards, apprentices are pioneering the future of the food & drink industry. Training opportunities span across the supply chain from engineering and production to hospitality and catering with mandatory training courses available to new and current employees.

Putting education at the heart of the supply chain opens up a diverse array of work-based learning opportunities that meet local and regional economic priorities. Bridgwater & Taunton College (BTC) are committed to supporting the South West’s food and drink industry and are accredited by the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink (NSAFD).

The success of receiving this accreditation in addition to being an Ofsted Outstanding provider of Apprenticeships is why BTC are the region’s host and pioneer of the South West Food & Drink Forum.

These forums have been successfully taking place since 2018 and bring together local, regional and multi-national employers to an open discussion of opportunities and challenges that the food & drink industry faces with the motive to encourage growth and inclusion of education across the sector.

Due to the ongoing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, the most recent South West Food & Drink Forum took place online during #LoveOurColleges week with the focus upon the challenges and experiences during the pandemic in addition to looking at the Apprenticeship incentives that are available for all businesses until January 2021.

For more information on our Food & Drink Apprenticeship provision, please contact business@btc.ac.uk or 01278 655111.