Tameside recognised for excellence in food training

Tameside College has earned a national accolade as a centre of specialist learning for bakery and confectionery.

The college, based on Beaufort Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, has been 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 invited to join the NSA because they have a proven record of delivering skills in food and drink manufacturing at the highest level. Tameside is one of the first 12 training providers to join the NSA. It is anticipated that 45 providers across the UK will have been accredited by the end of 2009.

Justine Fosh, director of the NSA for Food and Drink Manufacture, said: “We only accredit the very best organisations, in which the delivery of training is second to none.  Tameside College is one such organisation – it is acknowledged as a leader in the field of bakery and confectionery training, and is involved in the research and development of new training solutions that respond to changing sector needs.”

Tameside is one of three training providers being asked to pioneer a dedicated network for bakery and confectionery within the NSA. The college’s reputation for excellence in that field is built around a long history of links with leading companies, including on-going contracts to train staff at Greggs and Morrisons. The bakery department employs seven teaching staff and there are currently 260 students enrolled on courses within the department.

Justine added: “The bakery and confectionery industry is the largest of the north-west’s food and drink manufacturing sub-sectors, employing more than 20,000 people and generating an annual turnover in excess of £2 billion. Tameside’s growth into a leading training provider for bakery has been driven by local need. As part of the NSA, the college will now be able to use that expertise to the benefit of the industry nationwide.”

Chris Massey, the college’s Head of Bakery, said: “This is a magnificent reward for all the hard work everyone in the department and our industry partners put into training our students to the highest standards of excellence. The accreditation process to become part of the NSA is rigorous and we are very proud to have been accepted into the network. We are looking forward to playing a key part in boosting skills right across the bakery and confectionery industry by working in partnership with other NSA providers.”

As well as Tameside, 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), Duchy College in Cornwall (dairy, meat and poultry and rural and regional food production), Leicester College (bakery and confectionery), Brooksby Melton 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/