FOOD and drink processing plants which are already coping with skills shortages will need replacements for nearly 200,000 employees - more than a quarter of the sector's workforce - over the next seven years.

That was the warning from Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve, the York-based national food and drink sector skills council.

Mr Matthews, who leads a team of 25 people working at Providence House at Innovation Close, Heslington, spoke about the intensifying skills crisis in the food industry at Improve's inaugural annual meeting, in London.

He said the vacancies would be created by retirements and other natural wastage and warned that unless the supply of appropriately skilled workers improved significantly, manufacturers across the UK would see no let-up in the recruitment headache.

Mr Matthews said: "It is to address this and similar skills issues that Improve has been formed by employers and employers organisations across our industry.

"We are employer-led, employer-supported and directly focused on meeting employer needs."

He reported UK food and drink manufacturing had a turnover of £66 billion, contributing 17 per cent of the gross domestic product from all UK manufacturing.

In spite of skills shortages, the sector was 22 per cent more productive than its US competition and 27 per cent more productive than the average of its European neighbours.

He said: "Maintaining and building on this advantage is a primary target for Improve, with our contribution focused on productivity increases through improving the level of skills and the skills base of our sector."

It had been "a momentous first year" he said, with the launch of the food sector's Modern Apprenticeship Framework and of the Green Card UK skills passport.

Improve had also established a foundation degree framework, a Skills Xtra initiative in Scotland and extended its work in schools.

"We have made significant progress in the review and development of our national occupational standards and we have commissioned research into skills issues such as the shortage of food scientists and technologists, and the skills and employment of overseas nationals, from which arose our successful Cultural Diversity Programme,"

He said he planned to establish a UK sector skills agreement next year in order to secure a National Skills Academy for food and drink manufacturing.

He said the success of Improve would be measured by "the continuing rise in the number of employers committing to and engaging in raising the level of skills of their people".

Updated: 11:01 Friday, October 07, 2005