Establishing the labour availability issues of the UK Food and Drink Sector
27 August 2021
The FDF in partnership with the NFU and a number of other food chain organisations has published a new report on Establishing the labour availability issues of the UK Food and Drink Sector.
This extensive report sets out the labour and skills shortages across the food chain, drawing on a range of evidence to illustrate the breadth and scale of the issues faced. It outlines the consequences of not addressing the labour challenges faced by our industry, such as reduced choice and availability for consumers, increased prices, and reduced growth of the domestic food chain.
Topics
- Workforce and employment
- COVID-19
The report sets out a range of asks from Government to support the food chain through the disruption caused by Covid-19. Alongside increased opportunities for the domestic workforce to train up and start a new career in the food chain, the report proposes a 1 year Covid recovery visa to support the sector to cope with the immediate fallout of the pandemic.
In terms of longer term solutions, we are calling for partnership with Government to promote the careers opportunities in food and drink, make the Kickstart scheme more accessible to a wider pool of younger people, expand the Lifetime Skills Guarantee to cover more food and drink courses and to deliver greater flexibility within Apprenticeship Levy.