Eden dairy technologists graduate in UK
Twenty-five dairy technologists have graduated with a brand new Eden Foundation Degree in Dairy Technology in the UK. This specialised degree has been developed by the dairy industry, working through Dairy UK, the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink and Reaseheath College. It has been designed to address specific skills shortages, and to enable the UK industry to be at the cutting edge of dairy processing and manufacturing, according to Dairy UK.
A £5 million purpose-built dairy training centre was established in 2009 at Reaseheath College in Nantwich, Cheshire.
Dairy UK director general Jim Begg comments, “The graduation of the first Eden students marks a special day for the dairy industry. These students have worked hard on what was created to be the best dairy course anywhere in the world. They can now play an important part in developing the UK’s highly efficient and globally competitive dairy industry. We congratulate them on their achievement, and hope they will inspire fellow Eden students for years to come.”
The 25 graduates are all employees of Arla Foods, Dairy Crest, First Milk, Milk Link, Muller Dairies and Robert Wiseman Dairies and throughout their three year degree programme have been applying their knowledge and learnings to improve activities in dairy factories across the UK.
Dave Kynaston, vice principal of Reaseheath College, says: “The inaugural graduation of Eden Dairy Technologists represents a milestone for the industry. A significant part of their success has been achieved through the partnership between Reaseheath College as the training provider and the major dairy processors. We wish all the graduates continued success within their companies.”
Justine Fosh, executive director of the National Skills Academy for Food & Drink, adds: “This is an exceptionally important landmark in the future development of the UK dairy industry. We congratulate every single graduate on their hard work and are honoured to have played our part in ensuring businesses now have access to new recruits with exactly the right skills to drive further growth and innovation in an industry transformed by new technology, new processes and increased automation. These graduates are the first of the best – with many more to come in future years.”
