Top food businesses give green light to new flagship standard
for “Industry 4.0” engineering apprenticeships
A new “future-proof” standard for Food and Drink Maintenance Engineer Apprenticeships has been backed by a working group of leading businesses representing UK food and drink manufacturing.
The new occupational standard for Food and Drink Maintenance Engineering Apprenticeships was reviewed over 2021-22 as part of the Government’s Routeway Review. The standard continues to represent the strong industry input into professional benchmarks. Business involvement has been facilitated by the National Skills Academy for Food & Drink (NSAFD).
The standard will ensure new Maintenance Engineering apprentices are fully prepared for their role in Food and Drink Manufacturing’s “Industry 4.0” evolution – a new approach to the operational environment that focuses on interconnectivity, automation, machine learning and real-time data.
“Technical engineering skills are now a critical factor for all food and drink manufacturers. The new standard has been developed with Industry 4.0 in mind and designed in collaboration with the industry to focus on producing the kind of multi-skilled engineers the industry needs if businesses are to take full advantage,” said NSAFD CEO Louise Cairns.
“We’d like to thank all the businesses who took part in the review for their contribution to future-proofing the sector’s engineering skills pipeline as the industry continues to move forward into a connected workplace and smart manufacturing.”
The Trailblazer apprenticeship standard review group was Chaired by Kraft Heinz Technical Training Coordinator Billy Goulbourn and included representatives from: Arla Foods, Bakkavor, Britvic, Greencore, Hovis, Karro Foods, Kraft Heinz, Mars Wrigley Confectionary UK, Moy Park, Müller UK & Ireland, Nestlé UK & Ireland, Ornua Foods, Pladis Global, Premier Foods and Saputo Dairy UK.
The Standard is already live for new starts.