Duchy recognised for excellence in food training

3 June 2008: Duchy College has earned a national accolade as a centre of specialist learning within the food and drink manufacturing sector.

Duchy College—part of Cornwall College, which has sites in Camborne, St Austell, Saltash, Newquay, Callington and Falmouth—is the first learning provider in the area to be accredited as part of the National Skills Academy (NSA) for Food and Drink Manufacturing.

The NSA, which was launched last year, was one of the first of the government’s new sector-based skills academies to be established. It operates primarily through a UK-wide ‘Network of Excellence’—colleges and training companies that are proven to deliver skills in food and drink manufacturing at the highest level. Duchy is one of the first 12 training providers that make up the network, and it is anticipated that 45 providers across the UK will have been accredited by the end of 2009.

Justine Fosh, director of the NSA, said:

“The network comprises only the very best organisations, in which the delivery of training is second to none. Duchy College is one such organisation—it is acknowledged as a leader in the field of food and drink training, and is involved in the research and development of new training solutions that respond to changing sector needs.”

Each training provider focuses on a particular area of expertise under the academy banner, although Duchy is the first provider to be accredited by the NSA as a specialist in more than one field. It will lead the way in the provision of training in three food and drink sub-sectors—dairy, meat and poultry, and rural and regional food production.

Justine explained:

“The south-west is renowned for the quality of its regional produce, and meat and dairy are the biggest food and drink sectors in the region, employing almost half the industry’s 36,500 workers. It’s no wonder therefore that Duchy College has become a leading training provider in these fields. As part of the NSA it will act as a beacon of excellence, with food and drink companies across the country benefitting from its expertise.”

Dr Phil Le Grice, director of trials and research at Duchy College, said:

“It is a great achievement of our staff and of or industry partners that Duchy College has been recognised as being able to play a critical role in the south-west region as part of the NSA.”

As well as Duchy, the other learning providers accredited within the NSA for food and drink manufacture are: Poultec Training in Dereham, Norfolk (specialising in meat and poultry), the Sea Fish Industry Association and the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education (joint provider specialising in seafood processing), Reaseheath College in Nantwich (dairy), Peter Rowley Ltd in Grimsby (lean manufacturing), JohnsonDiversey in Northampton (food hygiene and safety), The University of Lincoln Holbeach campus (fresh produce), Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association (bakery and confectionery), Tameside College in Ashton-under-Lyne (bakery and confectionery), Leicester College (bakery and confectionery), Brooksby College in Melton Mowbray (rural and regional food production) and the College of North West London (food and drink manufacture).

Log onto the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing for further information, at http://www.foodanddrink.nsacademy.co.uk/