What is a Sector Skills Agreement?

Our Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) is an agreement between employers, the government, partner organisations and Improve to deliver an agreed action plan to meet the priority skill needs of the sector. The overall aim is to drive improved business performance. SSAs were a key announcement in the government’s White Paper in 2003 and the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) is taking the lead on the project.

For more general information on SSAs visit the SSDA's website.

Why is it being developed?

SSAs are the mechanism we will use to deliver food and drink manufacturing employer’s needs. The SSA will allow you, the employers, to have your say in the ways that priority skill needs are met. For example, how training provision and progression routes are shaped.

How and when will it happen?

The development of an SSA consists of 5 stages;

- Assessment of current and future skill needs
- Assessment of current provision
- Analysis of the gaps and weaknesses in current workforce
  development activity
- Assessment of the scope for collaborative action by employers
- The development of a costed action plan with key delivery partners

As an SSA tranche 3 SSC, Improve have now completed stages 1 to 5 of the SSA (delivered in March 2007).  Following project board approval stage 5 action plans will become available on this website.

The stage 1 reports (suite of 3 documents), stage 2 and stage 3 reports are available to download from the Reports and Events sub-section.

Improve would like to thank all the employers and stakeholders that have contributed to the SSA to date and we look forward to working with you in the future.