A conference held in the Welsh capital at the end of the month (26 October) is set to grapple with the looming problem of future skills shortages in a post-Brexit Welsh Food and Drink industry.
Held at the newly refurbished Cardiff Coal Exchange and organised by the Welsh Food and Drink Industry Board, the ‘Invest in Skills : Invest in Growth’ conference brings together leading industry figures, training providers and government officials to explore ways of ensuring a future pipeline of skills and labour.
Despite recent growth, issues around an ageing workforce, difficulty in attracting and retaining talent and a need for skilled workers graduating through further and higher education are issues of concern. With added uncertainty around Brexit and question marks over the future position of EU nationals currently working in the food and drink industry, a perfect storm is potentially brewing around future skills shortages.
The conference will be the first in a series of two events outlining the present skills needs of the sector, and those required in the future to improve productivity and competitiveness. Participants will be encouraged to join the debate, highlighting what support they need to attract talented people and also have the opportunity to discuss their skills needs with training providers. While the first event will discuss the challenges and needs of the industry, the second conference will focus on finding the solutions in creating a sustainable and competitive food and drink sector.
The issues around potential skills shortages were identified as a priority by the Food and Drink Wales Industry Board, which is a partnership between industry, academia and government to help drive growth and development within the sector. Primarily, the board’s focus has been on helping develop new markets, encouraging innovation and working to improve the perception of Welsh food and drink both inside and outside Wales. Seen as an important part of the industry’s future prosperity, last year the board organised an ‘Innovation & Investment for Growth’ conference, which facilitated over a hundred producers and funders and resulted in significant additional capital support for the industry.
Commenting on the upcoming conference, Andy Richardson, Chair of the Food and Drink Wales Industry Board said,
“Following extensive discussions right across Wales with people working within the industry, we decided as a board that further action was needed to make sure we have the correct skills to meet the needs of a dynamic, growing and successful Welsh Food & Drink sector of the future.
“We urgently need to understand the future skills requirements of our food and drink producers and to work closely with academia and training providers to deliver those skills and ensure capacity for future growth.
“While these conferences will help identify some of the skills issues facing us, by the end of the two-conference programme we will be in a far stronger position by having answers to some of these challenges. In this way the conference is about developing an effective strategy for the future. We look forward to working in tandem with the Welsh Government to put these solutions into practice and help create a prosperous and sustainable industry.”
Speaking at the event will be the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, who said,
“I’m delighted the board has listened to concerns voiced by our food and drink and producers and is proactively working, in partnership with Welsh Government, to help find solutions to make sure we have a suitably skilled workforce to continue driving the growth we’ve recently witnessed in the industry.
“A thriving industry requires the skills and expertise to not only ensure we have the capacity to grow but to also foster innovation and help place Wales at the forefront of any future technological developments. Therefore, it is in all our interests that government, industry and training providers work together to create a workforce that will bring future economic prosperity to both the industry and our communities.
“I’m very much looking forward to be taking part in the conference and meeting our producers to hear their views on how we can meet these challenges.”
