The South West food and drink sector employs an estimated 111,843 full-time equivalents.  The sector will need 13,000 new entrants over the next decade.  The average earning

The sector is important to the region and had an estimated gross value added (GVA) of £2.8 billion, representing 4.7% of the regional GVA.  The food and drink sector has a particularly strong meat and dairy industries, but specialises in the manufacturing of fruit beverages (cider) and dairy products (ice cream, cheese).

There are approximately 38,900 workplaces in the region with small enterprises (less than 10 people) comprising 82% of sites.  Organisations are mainly located in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and Somerset.  Some of the region’s major processing and manufacturing organisations include:

• St Merryn Food Group and Roach Foods in St Austell
• Lloyd Maunder near Cullompton
• Gerber Foods Soft Drinks Ltd in Bridgewater
• Kerry Foods in Poole
• Kraft Jacobs in Cheltenham
• Dalgety Agriculture Ltd in Stroud

A high proportion of full-time workers are managers and administrators (34%), and also plant and machine operatives.  Professional and associate professional occupations are not very important within the sector.  The greatest occupational declines are expected for skilled food craft occupations, bottlers, canners, labellers and packers, and administration and clerical staff.

Seasonal working is a key feature in the food and drink industry in both Wiltshire and Swindon; a proportion of seasonal workers return year after year.

Workforce profile:

• 51.6% of food and drink workers in the region are aged 25 to 45
• 28.7% are aged 45 to 60 years
• 58% of Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole food and drink workers are male and 42% female
• 23% of Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole food and drink establishments employ workers from ethnic minority groups

30% of the sector’s establishments report internal skill gaps, compared to the English sector average of 38%.  37% of dairy employers and 14% of food and drink employers report skill gaps.

Source: Improve website 2006 and Little 2004

For more regional data go to the Improve website.