UK – A new authority for skill development in the UK food and drink industry is set to be launched on 6 July.

Called Improve, the group is one of 23 new Sector Skills Councils commissioned by the government to replace the old National Training Organisations.

Commenting on the launch, Improve chairman Paul Wilkinson said that training and training bodies need to be simplified. “Nobody understands the qualifications,” he said. “It is full of jargon and we need to simplify it.” Wilkinson went on to say that Improve aims to update industry qualifications to make them more relevant and more user friendly.