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Monday, May 10, 2010 09:10
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Scotish Food and Drink Federation Awarded Additional Funding for National Schools Programme

(Drinks Media Wire). The Scottish Food and Drink Federation (SFDF) 1 has been awarded £30,000 funding from Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to help promote a two year national programme to educate more school pupils about the food and drink industry and encourage them to consider it as a career destination of choice.

The funding will contribute towards the development of new promotional materials built around industry scenarios, such as food and health and sustainability, which will provide school pupils with valuable learning experiences and the opportunity to develop and apply a range of skills. The materials will also help demonstrate the relevance of the food and drink industry across the curriculum to children in a variety of age groups and ensure teachers are supported with real experiences which link directly with the Curriculum for Excellence.

Gerry McBride, Strategic Relations Manager, at Skills Development Scotland, said:

“Skills Development Scotland is delighted to be working in partnership with the Scottish Food & Drink Federation to support the National Schools Programme. The food and drink industry is a priority sector for Scotland, with diverse and rewarding career options for young people in areas including engineering, food science, food technology, marketing and IT. This project will involve a range of partners and is one of the steps being taken to challenge skills gaps and labour shortages in key areas.”

Flora Mclean, Director of SFDF said:
“The funding provided by Skills Development Scotland will be invaluable in helping us to promote the dissemination of best practice and so make it easier in the future for companies and schools to engage in activities. The national programme is significant in that it will be designed to inspire and help school children make the connection between the food on their plates, what they are learning in school and the potential for a fulfilling career in our dynamic industry.”

This funding is in addition to the £180,000 provided by Scottish Government in February this year, which SFDF has already began to utilise by appointing a national coordinator to drive the programme forward. Moira Stalker will join SFDF on Monday 10th May to take responsibility for generating momentum around the programme and rolling out a robust programme of activity across primary and secondary schools in Scotland.

Moira is well placed to take on this position with her extensive experience of working with the education sector. An expert project manager, Moira has worked on a variety of Scotland wide projects in partnership with a wide range of organisations and stakeholder groups including schools, industry, sector skills councils and Local Authorities.

Skills Development Scotland, along with Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) and Determined to Succeed (DtS) have all provided their full support to SFDF’s programme, describing it as a ‘golden opportunity’ for industry to help contribute to the future success of young people, the economy and industry alike.

For more information & high res images, please contact Cath Wilkins, Sarah Lovell or Rebecca Wilhelm on 020 7420 7132/31/40.

Notes to Editors
1. SFDF is the voice of the Scottish food and drink manufacturing industry – Scotland’s largest manufacturing sector. For more information about SFDF and the industry we represent visit: www.sfdf.org.uk.

2. The Scottish food and drink industry is Scotland’s largest manufacturing sector. It generates annual sales in the region of £7.6bn and provides employment for around 50,000 people. More facts and figures at:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/06/24144522/0 (Scottish Government website - Food and Drink in Scotland: Key Facts 2009).

3. In order to establish the F&D industry as a recognised ‘career destination of choice’ and attract an adequate supply of appropriately qualified people to ensure its future growth and success, the key objectives of this two year programme will be:
· To establish an Advisory Group of key delivery partners and stakeholders, including a representative of Skills Development Scotland; Learning and Teaching Scotland; Improve Ltd; and the Scotland Food and Drink Skills Academy.

· To agree a detailed action plan for the development and roll-out of a national food and drink industry schools challenge programme, including provision for monitoring and evaluating progress at key stages and the agreement of appropriate means of measuring and demonstrating the impact of ‘Challenge’ activities.

· To work with LTS to identify any gaps in educational resources that need to be plugged and existing educational resources and examples of best practice that might be shared.

· Establish a framework that will enable the demonstration of the relevance of the food and drink industry across the curriculum and to different age groups via existing and new educational resources to be tiered at different levels (early years, primary, secondary etc

· Create and share a web-based archive of existing educational resources and case studies from across the country, to be developed and enhanced on an ongoing basis.

· Increase the level of ongoing engagement between industry and education by the establishment of new ‘challenge’ activities / programmes in different parts of the country, providing children with an opportunity to learn about the food and drink industry, including encouraging companies with ongoing programmes to bring them under the umbrella of the national ‘challenge’ programme and to share best practice.

 

Contact

Name: Nicki Hunt
E-mail: Nicki.Hunt@fdf.org.uk
Web: http://www.fdf.org.uk
Company: Food and Drink Federation (FDF)
Address: 6 Catherine Street - WC2B 5JJ London
Country: UNITED KINGDOM
Phone: +44 (0)20 7420 7132
Fax: +44 (0)20 7836 0580

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