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Supporting the continued success of Ireland’s food and drinks industry

Food Drink Ireland Skillnet helps the industry meet its talent needs through the delivery of hundreds of tailored learning and development programmes.

Continued investment in skills and talent is critical to the long-term sustainability of the Irish Food and Drink sector. Photograph: Shutterstock.

Thu Jan 19 2023 - 05:54

For the past nine years, Food Drink Ireland Skillnet has been developing high impact training and talent development solutions with a focus on skills that are critical to the success of Irish food and drink manufacturers.

“Our approach is to identify the key issues impacting the food and drink sector, look at their implications for talent, and then examine how learning and development can play a role in addressing them,” explains Mark Skinner, Food Drink Ireland Skillnet network manager.

Funded through Skillnet Ireland and participating companies, Food Drink Ireland Skillnet provides over 200 training programmes each year, ranging from short courses on leadership, management and commercial skills, right the way through to fully accredited Masters programmes in regulatory affairs and sustainable food systems.

The common thread linking all these programmes is their industry-led nature. In addition to its steering group of experts from industry, Food Drink Ireland Skillnet leverages its close relationship with its Ibec promoter organisation Food Drink Ireland to gain insights into the problems facing industry and how learning and development can be used to provide solutions to them.

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“There is literally day to day contact between Food Drink Ireland Skillnet and the team here in Food Drink Ireland,” says Food Drink Ireland director Paul Kelly. “All programmes are completely industry-led. The Food Drink Ireland Skillnet steering committee, which is made up of representatives from the wider food and drink sector, is constantly looking at new areas of need where training and upskilling could provide a solution.”

Food Drink Ireland member firms also feed into that process, Kelly adds. “For example, our regulatory committee worked side-by-side with Food Drink Ireland Skillnet in developing a programme dealing with food regulation. That collaborative, industry-led and impact-focused approach led to the creation of the MSc in Food and Drink Regulatory Affairs.”

Mark Skinner also emphasises the importance of impact. “Everything is about practical application,” he says. “Every time we develop a programme, we not only look at knowledge and skills, but also how we can support new behaviours and practices back in the workplace. By having member companies involved in programme development, we get a clear line of sight into the practical issues facing companies and the key learning impacts required for success.”

“By having member companies involved in programme development, we get a clear line of sight into the practical issues facing companies and the key learning impacts required for success.”

That close collaboration with member companies is a critically important success factor for the Food Drink Ireland Skillnet, according to Anita Gallagher, capability development manager at Britvic Ireland and chair of Food Drink Ireland Skillnet. “The team spends a lot of time with industry, understanding the needs and working out how training can help to meet them,” she says. “Every programme offered is directly relevant to the industry. We also know that if we identify a particular gap and there is no course relevant to it at the moment, the Food Drink Ireland Skillnet will work with us on creating one. That kind of responsiveness is invaluable.”

Skinner believes the single biggest challenge facing the industry at present is the requirement to become more sustainable. “The sector employs over 50,000 people. It is also one of Ireland’s oldest industries and we need to ensure that through best practices in sustainable food production, it is thriving in 10, 50, and, 100 years’ time”.

Food Drink Ireland Skillnet is helping the industry respond to the sustainability challenge by providing programmes which will assist employees develop new skills and to develop a deeper understanding of the issue and its full implications for the industry.

“Packaging is a case in point,” Skinner explains. “Whilst there is a big emphasis on reducing the use of plastic packaging at the moment, packaging choices must be made in the context of food safety and shelf life. To support this, in 2022 we launched a new Certificate in Sustainable Food Packaging which deepens participants’ understanding of the form and function of packaging and the broader food production system, in order to support the most sustainable food packaging choices.”

Successful development programmes place a heavy emphasis on the practical application of new learnings in the workplace. Photograph: Shutterstock.

Brexit continues to present challenges for the industry. “The whole agrifood sector has been the most impacted by Brexit,” Skinner notes. “It is the industry with the greatest market exposure due to its high level of trade with the UK and this has led to new skills requirements in areas such as customs handling and regulatory divergence. Programmes such as our Masters in Food and Drink Regulatory Affairs developed in conjunction with Atlantic Technological University in Sligo are supporting members in this regard.

“Brexit has also led to us assisting member companies with market diversification through programmes like our Diploma in Global Sales for the Food and Drink sector, which gives companies the skills to identify and prioritise new markets, understand the routes to those market, and how to maximise your value proposition through a better understanding of cultural differences,” he adds.

Employee recruitment and retention is also a critically important issue for the industry. “We are experiencing a very tight labour market at the moment,” Kelly notes. “Training is key to attracting new and retaining existing employees. It benefits both individuals and employers. Companies are getting more sophisticated in terms of people management. They are trying to improve their performance as employers and provide better working environments for employees. Food Drink Ireland Skillnet is supporting them in that improvement and helping them develop the people management skills required to attract and retain talent in today’s market.”

Another example of how Food Drink Ireland Skillnet develops programmes to address industry challenges is in that area of price volatility. “How do you run a business and make investment decisions if you don’t know what your core ingredients are going to cost tomorrow or next week?” Skinner asks. “We developed a two-day course to inform participants of the challenges associated with excessive price volatility and to learn about the tools such as futures and options which can be applied to mitigate its impact.”

Finally, digitalisation is high on the agenda for companies in every sector and food and drink is no exception. “Digitalisation is a priority for the sector,” says Skinner. “The Irish food and drinks industry competes on a global level. It’s a very competitive market with very low margins. Digitalisation can help reduce costs, improve efficiency, and increase productivity. We are working on a research report on digitalisation within the industry, how we compare to other sectors and markets, and the opportunities to support increased levels of digitalisation in food and drink production.”

Learn how Food Drink Ireland Skillnet can support your business’s skills and talent needs at www.fooddrinkirelandskillnet.ie

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