Working with FDQ has ensured that the training we do is right for our business and staff.
Nicola Cousins
Moy Park
This applies to those who work with animals and poultry in care, movement, preparation and slaughter to process food for human consumption, including operatives and Animal Welfare Officers (AWOs).
At the heart of this new regulation sits a proficiency qualification, which we at FDQ have had accredited by Ofqual. This means that we are now able to approve meat and poultry businesses and learning providers to deliver and assess this qualification. This qualification must be achieved by those in lairage and slaughter operations to be able to practice in this environment.
Once learners have achieved at time of assessment and received their qualification certificate (from FDQ), they can then apply for their Certificate of Competence from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in England and DARD in Northern Ireland.
The welfare of animals at time of killing (WATOK) suite of qualifications is fully accredited and recognised as the qualification certificate cited in EU Regulation 1099/2009 and, in particular Articles 7, 17, 21, 29 and Annex IV. The achievement of the qualification allows individuals to apply for a certificate of competence to work in lairage and slaughter operations.
These qualifications assess and confirm the competence of individual learners in the workplace in the protection of animals or birds at time of killing. The units of the qualification must be selected to reflect the areas of work and the animal species which an individual is responsible for, or working with.
The units within this qualification cover all species, including chicken, turkey, duck, goose, farmed game bird, ratite, bovine, ovine/caprine, porcine, equine, large game and lagomorph.
Level 2 Award in Protecting the Welfare of Animals at Time of Killing - £42.50
Level 2 Certificate in Protecting the Welfare of Animals at Time of Killing - £60.00
These are particularly popular with employers as training and assessment can be carried out largely within the workplace. This means qualifications can be undertaken during the working day and require minimal time off the job.
The qualifications and associated training can be tailored to be relevant to an individual’s daily work and business procedures, to ensure maximum benefit is derived by both the learner and their business.
11/10/2019
Food manufacturing giant and FDQ end-point assessment customer, PepsiCo, are embracing the FDPO apprenticeship to enhance and standardise their training across their Walkers Crisps production sites.
Over fifty apprentices have successfully completed their FDQ end-point assessment (EPA) and PepsiCo now have around 275 apprentices on programmes throughout the UK.
Mandy Reader, Organisational Capability Manager, UK and Ireland, explains how the Food and Drink Process Operator apprenticeship fits into their ‘Grow our Own’ strategy,
“We have a four-stage technical pipeline and our aim is to develop our own technical talent from entry level, General Support Operators. The FDPO apprenticeship enabled us to map our training needs into a nationally accredited qualification. This makes it a much more attractive prospect for potential candidates. They can see that there’s a career path open to them if they work hard. For some it’s the first time they’ve ever achieved a qualification.”
With over 1500 applicants for less than 100 vacancies recently, their approach looks to be working.
End-point assessment a game changer!
Managing a multi-site apprenticeship programme requires significant resource, according to Reader. In her view, key to PepsiCo’s success is the three-way partnership between FDQ, as their EPA partner, PepsiCo, and CQM, their training provider. EPA represents a game changer for everyone, says Reader,
“For business and apprentices, EPA provides independent verification that they have achieved a recognised industry standard, one developed by food manufacturers themselves. For us it’s vitally important to work with a food specialist EPA organisation. With high volumes of apprentices going through end-point assessment, having assessors with solid occupational experience combined with a dedicated EPA Manager is central to the success of the programme.”
The Food and Drink Process Operator Apprenticeship is now firmly established as the entry level production qualification for PepsiCo’s UK businesses. It has resulted in what Reader believes are ‘Gold Standard’ General Operators. And she’s not the only advocate of their apprenticeship programme. PepsiCo won the Food Manufacture Training Award in 2018 and have recently been named as an East Midlands Regional Finalist in the Employer of the Year category of the 2019 National Apprenticeship Awards.
Find out more about the Food and Drink Process Operator apprenticeship and end-point assessment here.
Read more26/9/2019
We’ve just heard that FDQ have been shortlisted as a finalist in the Awarding Organisation of the Year category at the Federation of Awarding Body (FAB) Awards 2019.
Read more