North-West farmer addresses MPs

Press Release PR 1442 North-west farmer David Linton spoke alongside farming minister James Paice at a recent event in the House of Commons. The event raised the profile of businesses working in the food supply industries and their critical skills and training needs. David Linton is a Director of Fylde Fresh and Fabulous. The farm near Preston grows and processes potatoes for ready meal manufacturers, restaurants and Fish and Chip shops. At the event organised by sector skills councils Lantra, Improve Limited and Skillsmart Retail David said: “I think there is a new energy around in Government and the industry, and at last food security is being taken seriously and it needs action, not sound bites. “We have 43% of the vacancies in the sector that are hard to fill; and 75% of those require technical and practical skills. “We just need to ensure we have sufficient people with the right skills to deliver what our nation and Government want.” The event was attended by nearly 100 MPs, top civil servants and industry leaders. Speakers at the event included the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Jim Paice; and Justin King, Group Chief Executive Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd and President of the IGD. Peter Martin is CEO of Lantra the sector skills council for the Land-based and environmental industries. He explained: “Many policy makers emphasise industries such as manufacturing, IT and bio-technologies - they need to include the food supply industry as well. “We employ one-in-seven of the working population and we’re the largest manufacturing sector in the UK economy. “We need to make the argument for our place as a priority industry which is central to meeting the challenges of climate change and a growing global demand for food. All of this means we need highly-skilled people and we must take their training and development seriously.” Following the event An Early Day Motion has been posted by South West MP Andrew George calling on the government to give the food supply sector a higher priority. Ends For further information contact Richard Fern - 02476 858418 Note to editors The EDM can be found at - http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=41781&SESSION=905 Lantra • Lantra is the Sector Skills Council for land-based and environmental industries, working to ensure these businesses access the training, qualifications, skills and knowledge they need. • An independent UK organisation, Lantra works with employers and the UK’s governments to address the skills and productivity needs of approximately 230 businesses (one in every ten UK businesses) in: agriculture; animal care; animal technology; aquaculture; environmental conservation; equine; farriery; fencing; fisheries management; floristry; game and wildlife management; land-based engineering; horticulture, landscape and sports turf; production horticulture; trees and timber and veterinary nursing. • By working together with the sector, Lantra leads research on skills issues and business needs, sets national standards and develops qualifications to meet modern business needs and help businesses grow through skills. • For more information see www.lantra.co.uk. Improve Improve is part of the network of sector skills councils established by the government to take the lead in driving up skills in the workplace in order to promote higher productivity and stronger competitiveness for UK businesses in the global market. Funded primarily by the government, sector skills councils are also supported by employers whose needs they represent when stimulating change among the providers of education and skills. Sector skills councils work closely with employers to promote greater commitment to improving skills in their workforces, and with schools, colleges, universities, and private training organisations to improve the provision of basic skills training and to make vocational and occupational training more relevant to the modern commercial climate. For further information, go to www.improve-skills.co.uk. Skillsmart Retail Skillsmart Retail is the Sector Skills Council for Retail. Part-funded by Government and led by retailers, it aims to be the recognised authority on retailers’ skills needs and priorities. Its mission is to drive a step change in skills levels in retail by: • Making a compelling case for the formal recognition of retail skills • Uniting retailers to simplify and improve access to the skills system • Improving the quality of new recruits into the retail sector • Raising the skills levels of the existing workforce in retail operations www.skillsmartretail.com For more information contact Ed Holmes on 0207 462 5576 or email ed.holmes@skillsmartretail.com