A total of 649 firms across the world participated in the research, which was driven by the UK-based research, development, training and advisory body to grasp the needs, effectiveness and challenges of food industry training. Respondents were drawn from every food and drink category.
While companies identified improved product quality and higher morale as the greatest effective benefits of food safety training, more than 70% pinpointed lack of time as the most significant hurdle in this process.
More than four out of 10 said verifying training effectiveness was another problem. That was followed by dealing with language issues when delivering an effective global training programme, resource problems and keeping the training programme up to date.
Room for improvement
Only two thirds of businesses replying to the survey said they were very satisfied or satisfied with the quality of training undertaken, so there was clearly room for improvement, Campden BRI concluded. The biggest deficiencies identified were a lack of employee understanding and incomplete training records.
In keeping with the desire to make use of limited time, 85% of firms answering the survey said their preferred training method was on-the-job. This was closely followed by reading material, refresher courses and traditional classroom-based learning.
“With food safety being so critical to the food industry, the importance of adequate training remains vital," said Laura Dunn Nelson, director of industry relations at Alchemy Systems. "The results of this study are an excellent way for food manufacturers and processors to benchmark their performance against their competitors and identify any opportunities for development.”
Bertrand Emond, head of membership and training at Campden BRI, said: “The results of this survey provide a complete picture of the current activities and practices in food safety training across the industry. By conducting the survey each year we will be able to track developments and trends, and develop solutions to some of the challenges identified.”
Full survey results can be found here: www.campdenbri.co.uk/training/GFSI.pdf