NATIONAL CENTRE FOR FOOD MANUFACTURING

1. NATIONAL CENTRE FOR FOOD MANUFACTURING Rachel Bowser Development Manager (Language Services and Support)

2. Communication Skills for all the Workforce Introduction Consultancy Service: Identifying English/Maths standards for job roles Introducing an English/Maths Screen on recruitment and for existing staff Setting up an on-site English/Maths course Report from the Equality and Diversity research How can we help you and how much are you prepared to pay! National Centre for Food Manufacturing

3. Communication Skills for all the Workforce Report from the Equality and Diversity research The research was to identify: • if the nationality of our students reflects the nationality of the workforce in the food industry and • if our student profile reflects the gender balance of the workforce in the food industry. An additional question was asked: how many directly employed staff v agency as at 1 April this year. 17 companies surveyed – courses last year – responses from 9 National Centre for Food Manufacturing

4. Communication Skills for all the Workforce Main findings • More female employees attend NCFM courses than are represented in the companies. • The balance of male to female employees attending English courses is 56% to 44% respectively. • British employees are greatly under-represented in the student cohort; only 5% of the courses are attended by British employees compared to 53% employed in the companies. • 53% of those employed in the industry are British whilst 47% are foreign nationals. • Polish employees are the largest foreign nationality employed in the sector (19%) followed by Lithuanians (12%).This is reflected in the student numbers. • As of 1 April this year, 34% of the workforce are Agency staff. National Centre for Food Manufacturing

5. Communication Skills for all the Workforce Recommendations • It is recommended that access to skills development opportunities for English workers is increased by: • Working with the food industry to seek ways of engaging English workers. • Developing and offering Functional Maths courses for English employees. • Developing and offering Functional English courses for English employees. • Ascertain if the balance of Agency v directly employed staff is reflected in companies who did not respond to the research. National Centre for Food Manufacturing

6. Communication Skills for all the Workforce How can we help you and how much are you prepared to pay! Courses: Short English courses: Entry - oral skills – 10 weeks - £400 per employee Improving Written Skills – 2 days – promoting to Line Leader - £400 Improving Oral Skills – 2 days – promoting to Line Leader - £400 Effective Team Member skills with Language Support – 2 days - promoting to Line Leader - £400 City & Guilds English/Maths Award – on-line – monthly workshops – Functional Skills Award - £50 National Centre for Food Manufacturing

7. Communication Skills for all the Workforce How can we help you and how much are you prepared to pay! Consultancy • Training/Learning Needs Analysis • Development of a Communication and Language Policy • Equality and Diversity Please can you complete the questionnaire? Be honest!! Thank you National Centre for Food Manufacturing