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Case Study

A Skills Action Plan for Scotland Food & Drink

Scotland’s food and drink sector plays a vital role in the national economy, supporting employment, exports, and rural communities. This report presents a refreshed Skills Action Plan that responds to changing labour market conditions, policy reform, and emerging skills demands across the sector.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The Scotland Food & Drink Partnership first launched a Skills Action Plan in 2020, identifying priorities regarding industry image, apprenticeships, upskilling, leadership, and fair work. Since then, the operating environment for food and drink businesses has changed substantially. Employment levels have declined, the workforce has aged, access to labour – particularly seasonal and entry‑level workers – has constricted, and automation and digitalisation have accelerated across both food production and processing.

Alongside these structural changes, Scotland is undergoing reform of its post‑school education and skills system, with new policy initiatives reshaping funding, governance, and delivery. The combined impact of these developments created a clear need to review the original Skills Action Plan, refresh the evidence base, and ensure that future actions reflect both industry reality and emerging opportunities.

AIMS & OBJECTIVES

Review how the sector changed in the five years since the last Skills Action Plan
Capture the perspectives of employers, sector bodies, and skills providers
Identify achievable actions to improve recruitment, retention, skills development, and productivity
Formulate an action plan that provides a framework for all stakeholders to collaborate in addressing skills issues

Review how the sector changed in the five years since the last Skills Action Plan
Capture the perspectives of employers, sector bodies, and skills providers
Identify achievable actions to improve recruitment, retention, skills development, and productivity
Formulate an action plan that provides a framework for all stakeholders to collaborate in addressing skills issues




OUR APPROACH

Our work combined desk‑based research with extensive stakeholder engagement. This included:

  • Analysis of labour market intelligence, policy and sector strategies
  • Interviews and surveys with food and drink businesses of different sizes and sub-sectors, and from across the whole of Scotland
  • Structured engagement with the Skills Advisory Group of Scotland Food & Drink
  • An open workshop to present, discuss and finalise the study findings

This integrated approach ensured that the recommended actions were grounded in real industry needs.

DELIVERY TEAM

Mark Morrison
Senior Consultant
About>
Hayley Welsh
Director & Senior Consultant
About>
Ed Leigh
Consultant
About>

OUTPUTS AND IMPACTS

The research confirmed that many of the challenges identified in 2020 remain, in particular: sector image and attractiveness, career pathways, apprenticeships, and management and leadership. New issues were also identified: recruitment and retention, and a need for multi-disciplinary skills that have a strong digital element.

At the same time, the findings highlighted significant opportunities. Many employers are committed to Fair Work practices, internal progression, and in‑house training. Several had adopted automation and digital technologies to reduce their reliance on manual labour while improving job quality and productivity. There was also strong support for flexible and modular training that was more responsive to industry needs.

These findings were distilled into four strategic themes: sector image and attractiveness; staff recruitment and retention; current and future skills needs; and delivering skills and training solutions. These form the backbone of the refreshed Skills Action Plan.

Link to report: https://foodanddrink.scot/helping-business/other-resources/publications/food-and-drink-skills-action-plan-2025/

Optimat were a real pleasure to work with. They invested time in understanding our needs and worked collaboratively with us to refresh our skills strategy. The result is a clear, practical and well evidenced piece of work that we’re genuinely delighted with.

Moira Stalker (Skills Manager)
Food & Drink Federation Scotland

Mark Morrison

Senior Consultant

I’m Mark, a Senior Consultant at Optimat. I specialise in life sciences and sustainability, working closely with clients to help them understand new technology and market opportunities as well as workforce skills requirements to enable these to become reality.

I’ve been with Optimat since 2015 and worked with a range of public sector clients to deliver insightful market and sector analyses in subject areas including synthetic biology, chemical manufacturing, carbon capture utilisation and storage, medical devices, decarbonised transport, and renewable energy. I’ve also supported private sector clients to secure grant funding from Scottish, UK and European agencies, and have coordinated a number of European Commission funded projects.

Before joining Optimat I was the CEO of the Institute of Nanotechnology, a not-for-profit organisation that was instrumental in raising the profile and opportunities in nanotechnology for UK and European businesses. This provided me with first-hand experience of engaging and collaborating with a range of stakeholders in private, public and third sector organisations across Europe.

I hold a BSc (Hons) in Molecular Biology from the University of Glasgow and a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Manchester.

Hayley Welsh

Director & Senior Consultant

I’m Hayley Welsh, a Director and Senior Consultant at Optimat. I’ve been working in consultancy for more than 23 years, helping organisations make evidence-based decisions that drive growth, competitiveness and long-term success. My work spans both private and public sectors, from shaping strategies and policies to supporting companies with commercialisation and business planning.

Much of my experience lies in demand analysis, economic evaluation, market assessment and supply chain mapping. I’ve led projects that test market demand for new initiatives, benchmark performance to guide policy, and assess the impact of strategic investments in innovation and infrastructure. At the heart of my work is a focus on turning research and analysis into clear, practical outputs that clients can act on with confidence.

I have particular expertise in developing strategies and action plans, gathering and interpreting evidence, and engaging with stakeholders to build consensus. A big part of my role is bringing clarity to complexity, whether that’s translating research into recommendations, identifying opportunities for improvement, or ensuring that the evidence gathered directly supports decision-making.

I also bring strong project management skills, having coordinated large multi-stakeholder projects at both UK and European levels. I’m highly experienced in qualitative and quantitative research, from survey design and structured interviews to data analysis, and I take pride in communicating findings clearly and effectively to clients at all levels.

I hold a BA (Hons) in International Business and Modern Languages from the University of Strathclyde and an MBA from the Open University.

Ed Leigh

Consultant

I am Ed, a Consultant at Optimat. I’m passionate about turning complex climate and nature concepts into clear, actionable insights. My core expertise is around carbon appraisal and management, climate/social innovation development, and product supply chain mapping/market strategy.

I especially enjoy collaborating with clients and stakeholders to shape meaningful action, combining robust quantitative analysis with qualitative insight to create strategies grounded in clear problem definition. This approach has enabled me to build strong relationships and expand my technical understanding of emerging and novel technologies, while also identifying and mapping the skills required to address them effectively.

My work includes the management of greenhouse gases and the development of strategic pathways for reduction and removals in sectors including transport, CCUS, energy, and nature-based solutions. I have developed practical approaches to innovation support by developing implementation strategies for climate technologies and nature-based solutions, with a systems-wide perspective.

I have completed a BSc in Geography and an MSc in Global Strategy and Sustainability. I am passionate about applying systems approaches to develop tangible, logical steps to deliver a resilient, adaptation-based future.