
GUEST COLUMN:
Kate Rees
Project Manager
Food & Drink Skills Wales

The food and drink manufacturing sector in Wales plays a key role in our economy, supporting jobs, fostering innovation, and contributing to sustainable growth.
One of the biggest challenges which food and drink manufacturers need to deal with is around skills. Food and Drink Skills Wales, a Welsh Government-funded programme delivered by Mentera, works hard to support businesses to tackle these issues head-on.
We work with businesses across Wales to upskill their workforce, improve productivity, and adapt to changing industry demands. From addressing technical challenges to promoting environmental sustainability, our role is to provide the expertise and resources businesses need to succeed.
A critical part of our mission is listening to producers themselves. Their insights guide the shape of our programme, ensuring our support is practical, relevant, and effective.
One pressing challenge is the shortage of food-specific engineers. This skills gap, identified through consultations with industry experts and ambassadors, underlines a broader issue – a lack of awareness about the rewarding career opportunities available in food and drink manufacturing. Too often, the sector is perceived as low-skilled or offering limited prospects, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
The reality is that food and drink manufacturing offers long-term, exciting careers across a range of disciplines. Engineers are essential to ensuring efficient production, maintaining complex machinery, and driving innovation. Yet attracting engineers into the industry remains a hurdle. By promoting these opportunities and showcasing the sector’s potential, we hope to inspire more people to pursue careers in this vital area.
We also work closely with educational institutions to address this issue at its root. Collaborating with schools and colleges, we aim to embed food and drink manufacturing into curricula, demonstrating to young people how dynamic and fulfilling a career in the sector can be. Degree apprenticeships and training focused on food and drink-specific skills could be transformational for the industry and the Welsh economy.
Our role also involves working with other organisations to connect skilled workers with employers in the sector. For example, we’ve partnered with Neath Port Talbot Council and the Tata Steel liaison team to explore opportunities for steelworkers facing redundancy. Activity has included identifying transferable skills and highlighting roles within food and drink manufacturing. We’re excited to continue this important work and see how it progresses.
The feedback from producers and councils alike has been encouraging, and we are continuing to explore ways to facilitate these connections. Initiatives like career fairs further help to showcase the industry’s potential and match skilled workers with businesses eager to grow their teams.
One of the most impactful aspects of Food and Drink Skills Wales is our ability to provide bespoke support to businesses. The programme already works with more than 370 businesses, supporting hundreds of training interventions which have been attended by well over a thousand attendees.
We understand that each producer has unique needs, and our approach reflects that. For instance, when Drop Bear Beer Co. installed new filtering equipment, we facilitated training with the specific equipment supplier to ensure staff could operate and maintain it effectively which estimates to increase their business productivity by 64%. This hands-on, tailored approach helped the company minimise downtime, boost productivity, and ensure the highest quality standards.
Food and drink manufacturers can access up to 80% funding towards eligible training costs through the programme.
Our support extends across the sector, from technical training to quality management and even labelling compliance. The ability to provide flexible, relevant training is vital to ensuring Welsh food and drink producers remain competitive and resilient in a fast-changing environment.
The programme’s funding is currently under review, which presents a challenge at a time when the sector needs support more than ever. Yet our commitment to the industry is unwavering. We will continue to focus on the two core strands of our work: supporting businesses directly and inspiring the next generation to see the food and drink industry as a sector where they can build a successful, long-term career.
The future of food and drink manufacturing in Wales depends on a skilled, motivated workforce. Through collaboration, innovation, and a shared commitment to excellence, we can overcome these challenges and ensure the sector continues to thrive.