BAKERSCOTTISHTHE
September 2022 In this issue: STV Live Broadcast at McGhee’s Bakery 2023 World Championship Scotch Pie Awards Modern Apprenticeships – Invest in training your staff
Scottish Bakers has placed a high value on training and development since its establishment in 1891. Now, more than ever, is the time for members to look at whether a Scottish Bakers apprenticeship programme can help deliver untapped productivity gains, efficiency and quality – if so, contact the team at Bakers House to arrange for an initial consultation.
ALASDAIR SMITH CEO
It seems hardly any time has passed since we came together at our annual conference in Glasgow in May. There was a wonderful feeling of togetherness and optimism after such a long time apart, and it was a great celebratory event for our noble trade.
THE SCOTTISH BAKER 02 WELCOME
possible. That’s why we submitted an industry response to the proposed regulations around mandatory calorie labelling and are drawing together a similar response to proposals to restrict the promotion of products deemed high in fat, salt and/or sugar.
Warmest wishes,
I had also been going to say that I hoped the markets had topped out, and that the worst was behind us. This optimism has proved unfounded, and there is a feeling in the trade that we have been left to fend for ourselves
by a rudderless Government entirely lacking the analytical skills necessary to see and respond to the developing crisis.
Despite all these pressures, anecdotal evidence suggests that a lot of the trade is busy, and volumes continue to be buoyant, let’s hope better times are around the corner.
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the latest edition of Scottish Baker, although I must say that this is the third time I have redrafted the content of this introduction.
The board recently approved a letter to various politicians in the Scottish and UK Governments drafted by CEO, Alasdair, in which he alluded to this being an existential event: unfortunately, he is not wrong and we as a trade must demand that protection is given for us to keep the ovens on. It has been heartening in recent days to see members up and down the country stand up and let the public know that we are in grave danger along with many other trades.
IAN MCGHEE President
It has been a pleasure getting to know Ian McGhee more as he settles into his Presidency. His passion for workforce development is palpable and I would echo his call to all members to look at how apprenticeships can help your business.
In the months since then, however, we’ve all been hit hard by challenges I know President Ian McGhee has touched on in his introduction. Here at Bakers House, the team continues to work hard to keep all members informed and provide support where possible but many of the toughest issues are informed by global events.
The first one was thought to be too gloomy, too pessimistic about the future, and so I lightened it up a little. However, recent events regarding energy pricing quite frankly don’t leave us with much to be cheery about. Members are reporting estimates to me and Alasdair of up to eight or more times their previous bill which is simply unsustainable.
Welcome to the September edition of the Scottish Baker.
We cannot let this go on, and I urge you to use any means possible to alert the press and inform the public that the trade is under real threat.
In the face of this, we must all strive to be more productive and efficient. I’m passionate about supporting our workforce – they are our strongest asset after all: we must look after our employees and ensure they are as well trained as possible.
What we can continue to do though is ensure your voices are heard where necessary to try to mitigate as many of the pressures as
And though the recruitment market is difficult (a recent poll suggests over 90% of our members have hard-to-fill vacancies), offering apprenticeships can be a way of attracting new talent while you can also use them to improve the skills of your existing staff.
Best wishes,
But Ian has already been working tirelessly on your behalf to highlight in the media the impact of cost increases and some of you may have seen him featured on both BBC Scotland and STV news broadcasts in recent weeks.
Thank you also to all those who completed our workforce survey. The data from this survey (and others we release from time to time) gives us credibility when speaking to the Scottish Government and other important stakeholders. I know how precious your time is, but please do respond to our questionnaires if you can.
I hope that you all can continue weathering the storms of the ongoing challenges and look forward to being able to get out on the road with Ian in due course.
CONTENTS Single-Use Plastics 3 STV broadcast from McGhee’s Bakery 5 2023 World Championship Scotch Pie Awards 6 Go Cardless 7 HR Trend: “Unretirement” 9 Member News 10 Centenary Club 12 Training Update 13
By the time that you read this we will have a new Prime Minister leading us, and my hope is that they will have a plan to guide us through this crisis. And it must be a lot more substantial than a few pennies off the tax rate: if we are all unemployed the tax rate won’t matter!
As with the previous restrictions, the legislation prevents the sale and manufacture of plastic plates, cutlery, cups (and lids), stirrers, straws, polystyrene takeout containers and balloon sticks. If you have not done so already you should take steps to source reusable items.
SINGLE-USE PLASTICS
Materials: The regulations cover single-use plastic products of all types, including ones that are made of plant-based materials and that are biodegradable or compostable, as well as single-use items which contain a mix of plastic and other materials such as plastic-coated paper or plastic-lined cartons.
Critical exemption: A critical exemption is applied to single-use plastic straws, to ensure those who need them to eat and drink independently or medical purposes can still get access to them. Businesses should continue to comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.
You may recall reading in the last edition of the newsletter about the change in law regarding single-use plastics. Certain single-use items were banned from the 1 June 2022, however, due to a loophole, it remained legal for Scottish businesses to source these supposedly outlawed goods from suppliers based elsewhere in the UK due the UK Internal Markets Act (IMA). The Scottish Government announced the country would become exempt from the IMA from the 12th August 2022, closing the legal loophole.
Products: Seven different products are covered including: single-use plastic cutlery; plates; straws; drink stirrers; balloon sticks; expanded polystyrene food containers; and expanded polystyrene cups.
The Law has Changed
Why is this being done?
For more information on the regulations visit plastics/regulationswww.zerowastescotland.org.uk/single-use-
What is covered by the regulations?
The introduction of market restrictions on single-use plastics is part of the Scottish Government’s drive to tackle our throwaway culture and the shift towards a circular economy in Scotland. Around four fifths of Scotland’s carbon footprint comes from all the goods, materials and services which we produce, use and often throw out.
SINGLE-USE THEPLASTICSSCOTTISHBAKER
E D I B L E D E C O R A T I O N S H A L L O W E E N C O N F E C T I O N E R Y B A K E R Y M I X E S F R O Z E N S A V O U R I E S I N G R E D I E N T S P A C K A G I N G Halloween Essentials Ask about our range of
From BAKO
0191 378 www.bako.co.uk0088
On Tuesday 26th July, STV News broadcast live from McGhee’s Bakery with our President Ian McGhee. Newsreader Kelly Ann Woodland reported directly from the bakery on the cost-of-living crisis which is gripping the country and how through their specially commissioned survey, it was found that it is food that people are cutting back on.
STV LIVE BROADCASTTHESCOTTISHBAKER
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STV NEWS BROADCASTS LIVE FROM MCGHEE’S BAKERY
We are working hard on your behalf to advocate on these issues to Government. If you have specific details of how these cost increases are affecting your business, please do share these with us as it will only help to give us a much stronger voice.
President Ian McGhee was able to illustrate the increase in the cost of raw ingredients, such as oil, sugar and flour, as well as increased energy costs and how that is affecting businesses who put food on our tables.
If you would like to watch the excerpt from the broadcast featuring McGhee’s you can do so via the following linkhttps://youtu.be/TgvmcBPncIU
AWARDS PARTNERORGANISED BY
THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SCOTCH PIE AWARDS ARE BACK! ENTER ONLINE –www.worldchampionshipscotchpieawards.org CLOSINGENTRYDATE 31st2022October JUDGING DAY 16th November2022 AWARDS LUNCH 24th2023January
The much anticipated and hotly contested competition for pie makers is back again for 2022/23! We are open for entries online from 30th September 2022. For more information on the competition visit the website for all of the details.
GO CARDLESSTHESCOTTISHBAKER
These payments will only ever be for the amounts and frequency we have agreed with you for your membership.
What we need you to do!
This means Direct Debit is the safest payment method in the UK. If an error does occur and a payment is taken when it should not have been, customers are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid.
GoCardless processes Direct Debit payments on behalf of other businesses and organisations and we are able to manage the whole process online, which is much easier for us to monitor and set up new arrangements.
We have recently changed our Direct Debit service provider to “GoCardless”. If you pay your membership by monthly direct debit and have not yet changed over we need you to take action.
DO YOU PAY YOUR SCOTTISH BAKERS MEMBERSHIP BY MONTHLY DIRECT DEBIT?
Why have we changed providers?
The direct debit guarantee
Members who pay their subscription by Direct Debit were sent an email from GoCardless requesting authorisation for us to take payments from you. If you are yet to do this then we need you to take actionthis should only take a moment of your time. Check your inbox for the email and simply follow the instructions on the email immediately to authorise the transfer of your direct debit arrangement.
As a customer, the Direct Debit Guarantee protects you against payments made in error or fraudulently.
If you do not have the email then please contact us ASAP and we will send you a link to set this up.
• • • • • • • •
RESOURCESTHESCOTTISHBAKER
Further research has shown that 32% of retired workers would consider returning to work at some point or were already working again after retirement. There are a number of different reasons why workers are keen to ‘unretire.’ For the majority, they said they would return for the mental and social stimulation that working provides. Others say they want to top up their pensions.
Nicole McMahon Scottish Bakers Account Lead, Peninsula.
We hope you took the time recently to complete our Workforce Survey that was circulated by email. This allows us to get a better picture of the pressures you are facing and to better represent you to Government and other key stakeholders.
Bakery Members, did you know that you can post job vacancies on the Scottish Bakers website? We fully understand the workforce pressures many of you face currently and we are here to support you.
RECRUITMENT: MAKE USE OF THE SCOTTISH BAKERS JOBS BOARD
There are significant benefits to be had from employing from this group. They will have skills and experience honed over many years in industry, which if not directly applicable can be adapted to suit the needs of the business. They may also be able to act as mentors for other employees, sharing their knowledge and helping with overall employee Employersdevelopment.shouldrecognise the varying reasons why staff are unretiring and put measures in place to directly meet their needs and expectations. For example, if an employee returned to the workplace to boost their social interaction with others, offering them a homeworking arrangement would be ineffective and unlikely to be successful. Instead, placing them in a high-traffic area within the workplace, or giving them a role which involves high levels of interaction with others, will ensure the person remains motivated and satisfied, so more likely to perform well for the organisation.
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transition. For example, introducing a phased-retirement policy as part of wider flexible working benefits.
increase was in men aged over 64, whose economic activity levels increased by 66,000, or 8.5% in one year. For females in the same age group, there was a 6.8% increase by 37,000.
HUMAN
Similarly, as the cost of living continues to soar and people struggle with ongoing increases in household bills, many are coming out of retirement to put themselves, and their families, in a stronger financial position.
Once you submit a vacancy, the Scottish Bakers team will receive an alert and we will then share across our social media channels.
Recent analysis of the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) latest labour market data found economic activity levels for people aged 50 and over are at their highest levels since the beginning of the pandemic. The reason for this? Older workers are ‘unretiring.’
UNRETIREMENT: THE NEXT HR TREND
This allows employees to gradually decrease their working hours and responsibilities, whilst still being on hand to support handovers and the development of those moving into their role. Such an arrangement can be equally beneficial for both the employer and employee since there are clear standards and expectations with the work that has to be Employeescompleted.remain engaged since they understand and are keen to meet the organisation’s key goals. In turn, employers remain satisfied with the level of productivity and co-operation. More organisations may wish to leverage the benefits a phased retirement can bring and introduce policies to this effect.
Where employees are considering retirement, but haven’t yet confirmed they wish to leave their position due to the stresses of non-work life, employers may want to pro-actively implement measures to support this
Economic activity levels measure the number of people who are in work or who are looking for work. The study showed that there was an increase in economic activity of 116,000 amongst workers aged over 50 in March-May 2022, compared with the same period in The2021.biggest
A fantastic achievement for someone with a bright future in the bakery trade.
SCOTTISH BAKER OF THE YEAR AWARDS
MEMBER NEWS
Breadalbane Bakery
A few of our award winners were unable to collect their awards in person at our conference and awards weekend. Our Chief Executive and some of our training team did the honours of visiting some of the winners in person to present their certificates and trophies.
for a Fife baker as Stephens Bakery took home the title last year. Let’s hope it stays in Scotland!
We will be rooting for them all come October when the winners are revealed at a glittering awards night in London.
We also conducted the prize draw with customers from Harry Gow Bakery, Aulds Bakeries and J M Bakery winning a Google Nest Hub Max.
Pictured are the team from Breadalbane Bakery & Pantry who won both best Traditional and best Sourdough in Scotland, Annie’s Bakery, who won the Customer Choice Bakery Café award, Graeme & Cameron Ross from JG Ross who won National Silver and Best in Region for their Multiseed Bread, David Little from R Little Bakers who won best in region for their White Roll and Jane Brown from Biggar Flavour, who won a regional bronze for their cheese scone.
SCOTTISH BAKERS MEMBERS SHORTLISTED FOR BIA AWARDS
You will have read about Amy McBean from Maclean’s Highland Bakery in the last edition of the newsletter. She has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Rising Star category.
McGhee’s Bakery is shortlisted in the Bakery Manufacturer of the Year category, alongside Allied Trade member Dawn Foods.
THE SCOTTISH BAKER
R Little BakersBiggar Flavour
The finalists for the 2022 Baking Industry Awards have been revealed and three of our Bakery members and one Allied Trade Associate Member are in the running for an award.
JG Ross (Bakers) Ltd
Fisher & Donaldson will be looking to add to their Scottish Baker of the Year, Bakery Café Award by winning the Craft Bakery Business Award. If they win, it will be consecutive wins
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Annie’s Bakery
Their new autumn recipes include: Spiced Toffee Apple Traybakes, Spider Cupcakes and selection of cookies - Ghost cookies, Stuffed cookies, Monster cookies and Chai-Spiced Maple and Pecan Cookies.
With over 60 years of creating and installing packaging machinery, ULMA Packaging UK provides customers with a wide variety of solutions to suit any requirements. As a result, the company can offer multiple types of machinery for bakery, biscuits and confectionery applications, including vertical and horizontal flow wrappers, alongside thermoforming and traysealing solutions. ULMA is proud to be the only supplier capable of providing such a wide range of packaging options to the baked goods sector.
BALD BAKER, EDINBURGH
Well done to the Mud Pies of Apple Pie Bakery who completed the Tough Mudder Challenge in July.
WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS
Fifty-six per cent of people have increased purchasing of comfort food and, irrespective of health concerns, taste and enjoyment remain the main reasons why consumers turn to products in an era when they are seeking out small indulgences that offer temporary escapism from every day life.
They were raising money for Chris’s House, a crisis centre for the support, response and intervention surrounding suicide. To date they have raised over £1000!
CSM INGREDIENTS LOOKS TO NOSTALGIA AND COMFORT AS IT SPICES UP AUTUMN RANGES
We
CSM Ingredients predicts that autumn and winter 2022 sweet bakery ranges will be dominated by products that meet the four demands of nostalgia, comfort, enjoyment and indulgence, manifesting with a focus on cookie cakes, stuffed cookies and the traditional Halloween ranges. Tapping into the pleasure gained from eating and drinking, bakers should create their ranges accordingly to meet their customer’s requirements.
Owner, Scott Parker, started his bakery business in 2021, in lockdown, creating homemade sweet treats for collection and delivery throughout Edinburgh & Lothians.
are delighted to extend a warm welcome to the association for two new members:
One year later he now has his own shop in Oxgangs, Edinburgh. He has a range of traybakes and cakes, as well as bread, rolls and pies available daily.
ULMA PACKAGING
11 MEMBER NEWS THE SCOTTISH BAKER
MUD PIES COMPLETE TOUGH MUDDER
President Ian McGhee spoke about his bakery’s challenges through the early days of the Covid pandemic and how they had to adapt their business to comply with emerging regulations.
CENTENARY CLUB JOINT SECTOR LUNCH VEGAN AND GLUTEN-FREE TWO DIFFERENT DIETS? IREKS COMBINES BOTH. IREKS offers a wide range of tasty gluten-free products, but what makes IREKS so special about gluten-free products? The guarantee of highest safety: We use carefully selected, high-quality, gluten-free raw materials We only process in special, closed batch containers to avoid cross-contaminations with raw materials containing gluten We examine every gluten-free batch in our own laboratory TRY NEWGLUTEN-FREEOURVEGANCAKEMIX. www.ireks.co.ukGerman for quality since 1856 CENTENARY CLUB THE SCOTTISH BAKER 12
We thank Jim Brown for his work in organising a wonderful occasion.
In June, President Ian McGhee and Chief Executive Alasdair Smith had the great honour of attending the all regions summer lunch meeting of the Scottish Bakers Centenary Club. Gathering for the first time in three years at Huntingtower in Perth the event was attended by almost 40 guests.
Alasdair also spoke about how Scottish Bakers had responded to the pandemic and the work we did to ensure our members were kept abreast of emerging developments.
TRAINING NEWS THE SCOTTISH BAKER
Unfortunately, the reverse is true for food and drink manufacturers, who report higher vacancy rates than the average UK business and accelerating at increasing pace.
Invest in your team!
Up to date information on recruitment and retainment via the sector.
National Food and Drink Training (NFDT), the training arm of Scottish Bakers has been accredited to the matrix Standard, demonstrating the high quality delivery of apprenticeship programmes and skills courses to meet the baking and wider food and drink sector needs.
Modern Apprenticeship programmes are part-funded by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and allow you the opportunity to “invest” in your workforce thus allowing you to retain current employees and use “funded training” opportunities via NFDT to attract new talent to the business!
respected in both the North & South. He worked as a training advisor for us in Northern Ireland and retired his service with Scottish Bakers right around the first Covid lockdown in 2020 and was highly regarded amongst the team.
Training & Education has been part of Scottish Bakers remit since the Association’s inception in 1891?
The bakery sector and wider Food & Drink sector are facing unprecedented times in recruiting and retaining talent that can currently choose a different career with hours, pay and conditions to suit!
Did you Know??
Now you Know!
Employers using NFDT Apprenticeships willUpreceive:todate information on all of its Apprenticeship programmes and support services.
Scott Anderson Training & Quality Manager
There were a record 1.3m vacancies in the UK in Q2, with staff shortages across all UK sectors. The good news is vacancies have been increasing at a slower pace.
TRAINING NEWS
We heard some sad news in July about one of our former colleagues, Emmanuel McCann. Emmanuel passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loving family on the 10th July 2022. Emmanuel was a much-loved Bakery Industry Ambassador in Ireland and
Our National Food & Drink Training Team are continuing travel the length and breadth of the country providing work based learning.
REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUE
These include Bakery and Craft Bakery Skills, Food Manufacturing Excellence, Food and Drink Operations and Supply Chain Skills at Levels 5 and 6 in Scotland, and Food and Drink Operations, Bakery and ILM Team Leader/Supervisor at Levels 2 and 3 in England.
NFDT ACCREDITED TO THE MATRIX STANDARD
Up to date information on funding the opportunity to be involved in making decisions about Apprenticeship programmes that suit business requirements.
National Food & Drink Training, the training arm of YOUR Trade Association is here to help with your training requirements and supporting the recruitment and retention of your staff!
The matrix Standard is the international quality standard for organisations that deliver information, advice and/or guidance (IAG), either as their sole purpose or as part of their service offering.
Funding generated from our training activities is used to support association members and the bakery sector in Scotland with advice, guidance and representation.
Up to date labour market intelligence from the Signpostingsector.tomental health and wellbeing advice for employees. The chance to invest and upskill their workforce.
Emmanuel McCann pictured second from left with some of the training team on an IREKS study tour to Germany in 2015.
In the Know!
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Specifically, there were 6.3 vacancies for each 100 jobs in our industry in Q2, up from 5.2 in Q1. Food and drink manufacturers had difficulty recruiting for all kind of roles: from production operatives and drivers to specialist roles, like bakers, butchers or flavourists, to engineers and IT roles.
We have a range of suitable MA pathways that can be tailored to suit your specific needs!
CALL US NOW TO GET STARTED SCOTT ANDERSON TRAINING & QUALITY MANAGER 07702 520 scott@scottishbakers.org524www.nfdt.org Here’s what some members say about the benefits of apprenticeships and of working with us: All our apprentices have developed greater more empowered to speak out about potential improvements to production processes. LINDSEY MORRISON, HR MANAGER NAIRN’S OATCAKES I have utilised the service in the past in another bakery business and reaped the I believe it is a way to help motivate and improvements and give employees a greater sense of worth and pride in their job role SHIRLEY SIMSON, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR LEES OF SCOTLAND As a member of Scottish Bakers and having worked with them on other aspects of our business they made it very easy from the initial contact and discussing the program to the implementation of it.
We know just how hard bakers are working right now, and under greater pressures than ever before. The collective impacts of Brexit, the Covid pandemic, and rising input costs are squeezing businesses more than in living memory.
PROVEN BENEFITS
of employers agree that advice, support, and guidance given by the NFDT team was relevant to their business.
of employers agreed that training visits were planned and well timed to suit business needs.
Modern Apprenticeships are delivered on-the-job, meaning there’s minimal downtime and impact on your production capacity while your staff develop their skills. Training and assessment are conducted by expert industry trainers so you can be assured of the quality and relevance of the support provided. Scottish Bakers.
of employers agree that MA programmes have helped their employee(s) to improve and develop skills.
We can help you deliver improved productivity and efficiency in your bakery through Modern Apprenticeship training.
DELIVERING PRODUCTIVITY & SAVINGS
Our evaluation with employers shows how effective apprenticeships are. We conducted a survey over the last year and of the employers who responded, this is what they said:
JIM WILLIAMSON, MURRAYS THE BAKERS PERTH
100%
Recruitment is a huge challenge facing businesses, which is why so many Scottish Bakers members are choosing NFDT to deliver Modern Apprenticeships as a means of training and retaining talent.
NOW IS THE TIME TO CONTACT NATIONAL FOOD & DRINK TRAINING (NFDT) The specialist training arm of trade association,
At Nairn’s Oatcakes competition for resources within the business is particularly keen as it is rapidly expanding. Previous approaches to training often required day-release to college, which can be difficult to facilitate in a manufacturing environment and which created a barrier for many to have the opportunity of self-development.
Having utilised our training services in a previous role, Shirley Simson, Operations Director at Lees of Scotland spearheaded the move into apprenticeships for their workforce. “We have found employees highly engaged and enthusiastic about their training programme,” says Shirley. “For example, they talk more openly about the waste they see in their day-to-day roles and seem genuinely interested in helping us seek ways of reducing these.”
Why Choose Apprenticeship Training
Getting Started
A learner being observed at Nairns Oatcakes
Jim Williamson, owner of Murrays Bakers in Perth is candid about the benefits of apprenticeship training to his business.
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Our training team is a valuable asset to the trade association and many of our members are able to take advantage of the modern apprenticeships we offer. We don’t just offer training in craft bakery but other programmes including: Food Sales & Service for retail staff, Distribution, Production & Processing and Food & Drink Operations.
“We identified candidates and discussed the best training programme to meet individual employee and business needs with the Scottish Bakers team. They then suggested units and pathways to fit our requirements, job descriptions and skills gaps,” says Patrick.
A Better Workforce
A Better Business
“Improved profitability and reduced wastage have been an encouragement as we find more efficient ways to manufacture,” says Jim.
Some of the Modern Apprenticeship achievers at Lees of Scotland.
The Williamson Family. Osea and Romali have both been undertaking MA training.
Working directly with one of NFDT’s training advisors helped owner Patrick Murphy get started with rolling out the training across the business.
Over and above this, he notes not only a definite improvement in staff motivation and increased productivity, but also new ideas and ways of doing things.
We have been speaking to some of our members recently about the benefits training brings to their business and as a result we have produced some interesting case studies. These are all available to read on our website, but here are some highlights on what they had to say.
The Three Little Bakers has been a member of Scottish Bakers for many years and so had heard about the training offered though its training arm, National Food & Drink Training (NFDT).
“It has made us more aware of the basics that we usually take for granted and how important that they are to the business.”
MORE INFORMATION We’ll be sharing more apprenticeship stories on our social media or you can head to our website to read them: scottishbakers.org/page/apprenticeships
NATIONAL FOOD & DRINK TRAINING CASE STUDIES
SCOTTISH BAKERS Bakers House 2 Halbeath Interchange Business Park Kingseat Road Dunfermline, KY11 8RY T: 01383 661 555 E: www.scottishbakers.orginfo@scottishbakers.org