Interview: Improve's John Nixon on skills in Food & Drink

With an annual turnover of £77.4 billion and employing over 500,000 people, the UK food and drink industry is one of the largest and most competitive manufacturing sectors in the world. Operations director for Improve (the Sector Skills Council for the Food and Drink), John Nixon, warns there are still significant skills needs across the sector that need to be addressed if we are to create a sustainable future.

In an economic climate that has already seen a substantial move towards lower cost and own label products, combined with a significant programme of rationalisation, downsizing and plant closures across the food and drink manufacturing sector, the requirement to help the industry drive productivity and cost savings through skills has never been more of a priority and is clearly set out in the Governments policy document Food 2030: How we get there.

The big issues

For me the big issues are clear. Many organisations, particularly SME’s, are struggling with the dual impact of lower demand and increasing costs of raw materials and energy. The impact on the bottom line is significant and too often the response is to work harder and not smarter.

They and their staff urgently need to be gaining the skills that will directly impact on the company’s bottom line by making them more productive and more profitable.

The key focus

The economic situation requires more than ever a particular focus on several fundamental areas that will determine the success and ultimately, the long term sustainability, of the Food and Drink industry going forward.

Focus on things such as waste, energy and continuous improvement.

Companies could save substantial amounts of waste by having their utilisation checked. In one recent case study by The Environmental Academy, employees thought that water used by their company was free!

And energy is also being misused. In many small companies the energy bill is often regarded as a necessary evil to be passed on to the finance department for payment. No attempt is made to identify major energy cost centres within the business and/or look at ways of reducing this cost. And there are many examples of companies spending money on conflicting technology to address a symptom (workplace too hot/cold) and not the solution.

Another big issue is the need for SMEs to start driving to operational excellence. Lean doesn't just work for the automotive industry. And Improve has numerous case studies to show that the adoption of these principles has not only increased jobs but averted closure.

What happens next?

The key to future prosperity is collaboration and training. There are benefits of (particularly smaller) organisations coming together to share best practice. Clustering needs to be supported by the organisation decision makers in order to demonstrate the principles involved. It could include, for example, the formation of a Resource Efficiency Club where methods of cost saving allied to reductions in waste and the consumption of energy can be shared among members. Examples of current best practice drawn from within the industry are available for dissemination and carry more weight coming from industry than from government sources.

But without awareness and training what's the point? Specific courses are now available that can significantly increase the awareness of business owners and staff. They can ensure necessary knowledge and expertise located internally as opposed to undertaking one off consultancy programmes in isolation, which do not necessarily leave the organisation with the skills it needs to go forward.

For information on Improve training click here.

Operational excellence for all

It's heartening to see the major players in the food and drink sector are already making a start towards driving continuous improvement. The principles (and benefits) are exactly the same for SME's. Long term sustainability is something they can learn from larger players. They just have to be prepared to work together to help each other achieve a sustainable future.

It's clear that a lot of companies need a basic understanding of the benefits of continuous improvement. And that the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) style diagnostic is not for everyone - simply because it is heavily involved in the day-to-day and a considerable degree of commitment required.

As an alternative, Improve's National Skills Academy now has an on-line diagnostic (at two levels) that will enable any business owner to map where his organisation is in terms of Continuous Improvement, and provide clear guidance as to where the organisation is and where it should aspire to be.

It all comes down to skills needs. They need to be addressed if we are to create a sustainable future.

Improve offers a numbers of environmental courses that can help people identify how their organisation impacts on the environment and identifies their legal obligations, as well as equipping them with the tools to save money from the bottom line through increased resource efficiency. Learners will also implement a waste minimisation scheme for their organisation and conduct a live environmental risk assessment.

For further information or to talk to a representative of Improve/The National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing Telephone: 0845 644 0448 now or Email:info@improveltd.co.uk.