Courses to help East Midlands food and drink firms announced by The Food and Drink Forum

Business support organisation The Food and Drink Forum has announced its training courses for 2011.

The courses are designed to boost skills, encourage efficiency and increase profits, as well as promote the benefits of achieving external accreditation.

This year’s programme includes a new course on effective coaching to be run by The Forum’s recently appointed manufacturing innovation manager Mark Nicholson.

Mark and The Forum’s food technical manager Richard Wigley will also deliver training events that focus on food safety, becoming more efficient, and internal auditing.

The courses are open to all food and drink firms, as well as the Food and Drink Forum’s members who operate mainly in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, and who qualify for a discount on course fees.

“Investing in the training and development of employees is essential to the success of a business,” said Food and Drink Forum managing director Fiona Anderson. “The Food and Drink Forum has extensive expertise in delivering training courses for food and drink manufacturers, producers, caterers and others working in the sector, and this year’s programme has been designed to offer a selection of suitable courses. We can also run bespoke training courses, designed to meet the exact requirements of our clients.”

This year’s programme of courses will be delivered in the training suite at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham, or at suitable external premises, and the programme incorporates courses accredited by major awarding body the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).

On Thursday April 14th a one-day CIEH Level 2 Award in Food Safety for Catering is being held. Completing a food safety course is a legal requirement for all individuals working in a food or food-related business. This basic, entry level course has been put together to specifically address the food safety and hygiene needs of caterers and is the ideal way to ensure legal compliance for businesses.

On Wednesday May 11th, The Forum runs a half-day course on becoming lean, which is aimed at food and drink professionals interested in understanding the basic principles of lean manufacturing and how they can achieve more with less resource through the continuous elimination of waste.

A one-day course on internal auditing designed to meet the requirements of auditor training for certification standards such as the BRC Global Food Standards and SALSA takes place on Tuesday July 5th.

On Wednesday September 14th The Forum runs a half-day course on effective coaching, while on Tuesday October 4th a one-day CIEH level 2 Award in Food Safety for Manufacturing course takes place.

Based at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham, and operating across the East Midlands, The Food and Drink Forum is a membership organisation that is one of the region’s largest business support organisations, championing the food and drink sector in the East Midlands through a variety of different ways.

To find out more about the courses or The Food and Drink Forum, visit www.foodanddrinkforum.co.uk or call 0115 9758810.

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