Processing
Situations vacant
Upskilling the UK workforce is a potential answer to staff shortages in the seafood sector
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COMBINATION of Brexit and Covid-19 has caused an exodus of European employees from the seafood processing sector – and efforts to a�ract UK workers into those posts are failing. So says the trade body, Seafood Scotland, which es�mates that a quarter of posts in the industry are currently vacant. December saw the launching of two major ini�a�ves, one from the UK Government and one from the Sco�sh Government, both seeking to address staff and skill shortages in the sector. The UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced a Skills and Training Scheme to encourage new entrants into the industry. “Up to £10m will be used to encourage new entrants into the processing, catching and aquaculture sectors, alongside training and upskilling current
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workers,” DEFRA explained. “We will do this by offering an improved package of training to people joining the industry and making it easier for people from coastal communi�es to progress through their career.” Seafood businesses in Scotland are also being offered a set of training packages as part of a Business Improvement Programme launched by Seafood Scotland. Seafood Scotland has been awarded £100,000 from the Sco�sh Government’s Na�onal Transi�on Training Fund to support onshore ac�vi�es of seafood businesses across the country, upskilling and training employees to support company growth. The programme will provide bespoke training packages to companies to help support their objec�ves. Companies will have access to over 60 courses, ranging from fish frying, knife skills and monger training to customer and human resource services, as well as guidance on business planning and strategy. The programme will be delivered to current staff members over the age of 25 using flexible and hybrid methods, such as self-taught online modules and guided virtual sessions. The Na�onal Transi�on Training Fund was launched in 2020 by Skills Development Scotland, Scotland’s na�onal skills body, following the rise in
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07/02/2022 14:32:01
