This week marks the ninth annual National Apprenticeship Week. Launched on Monday 14 March, the week celebrates apprenticeships and traineeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

New research released for the occasion reveals that businesses place apprentices at the heart of their plans to succeed, and rank hiring the right staff as the most important factor in helping them grow. The findings also show that managers hiring apprentices are five times more likely to believe the company will expand rapidly, compared to those that don’t.

Apprenticeships are at the heart of the UK food and drink industry’s drive to address the recruitment and skills crisis facing the sector.

At the end of last year, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) announced a pledge to treble apprenticeships in the industry. This will see the total apprenticeship workforce in the sector increase from one to three per cent against a 2013/2014 baseline. The target builds on an existing pledge by the FDF to increase the number of higher level apprenticeships by 20 per cent by 2017.

Hopefully this week’s focus on apprenticeships will further the UK food and drink industry’s drive to attract new talent to the sector.