Food and drink manufacturers have already beaten the end-December deadline apprenticeship targets they set themselves earlier on this year.
Representing food and drink manufacturers across the UK, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) reports that 5,281 apprenticeships have started in the industry since August 2011, meaning that the original target, set at 3,400, has been well and truly shattered.
Presently apprentices make up 1.3% of the overall food and drink manufacturing workforce, a dramatic rise since 2010/11, when they made up only 1.4%.
Launched by Tim Campbell, the very first winner of the BBC's "The Apprentice" series, the FDF's apprenticeship pledge aims to create pools of talented young people who can be developed and then deployed across the whole food and drink manufacturing sector.
Jim Mosely, President of the FDF, says: "With people at the heart of our FDF centenary celebrations next year, I am delighted that we have beaten our Apprenticeship Pledge target by trebling our apprentice numbers in 2012. Our Apprenticeship Pledge and Graduate Excellence programme are both key to attracting the talented individuals that we need for the future, enabling us to achieve our joint vision with government to grow our sector 20% by 2020.
"Having so many great companies on-board, offering quality apprenticeships and work placements as part of the degree, is a sign of our industry's commitment to support the next generation of skilled food and drink employees and to achieving our vision."
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Owen Paterson, says: "The doubling of the number of new apprenticeships in food and drink over the past year is a huge achievement and one of which the industry should be proud."
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