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Covering key topics across the sector, Food Fraud, Culture & Modern Catering Processes will provide delegates with the knowledge and understanding to improve existing food strategies and procedures within their businesses.
You’ll also get the chance to:
The conference takes place on Tuesday 26 September 2017 at Doncaster Racecourse. Tickets are priced at £170 + VAT for Highfield centres and £210 + VAT for non-centres. To book a place for yourself and/or a colleague, you can book here . Alternatively, call us on 0845 226 0350/ 01302 363277 or email events@highfieldabc.net. And one last thing, if you aren’t already a member of our Food Safety Forum on LinkedIn, join today for free to receive updates, news and information from food safety trainers, consultants, practitioners and indsutry professionals, alongside continuous networking opportunties and exclusive promotions.
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Author Archives: Press Office
With less than two months to go until
Highfield
hosts the food safety event of the year at Doncaster Racecourse, we are pleased to announce that the conference agenda is now live!
2018 events calendar now live!
We know summer may have only just started, despite the best efforts of the British weather to suggest otherwise.
And it’s still a massive 152 days until Christmas (sorry).
But that’s not going to stop us from launching our events calendar for 2018!
We’re already excited about the line up we’ve put together, with a whole host of events throughout the year covering first aid, fire safety, education and training and food safety.
And we’ve brought together some of the very best subject matter experts in their fields, who will be bringing you all the latest updates, guidance, information and training you need for your organisation.
Nearly all our events come with CPD points and offer discounts to Highfield Centres, so there’s plenty of reason to get booking now.
But don’t worry if you’re looking to have your training needs met a little bit sooner – there’s still 21 weeks of the year left (we’re counting) and numerous events between now and the end of the year, so plenty of opportunity to confirm your place.
If you want to take a sneak preview of what we’ve lined up for 2018, then just go to our events section and scroll through the dates.
Or drop us a line at events@highfieldabc.net
.
New qualification to help businesses better understand allergen rules
A new qualification that will help foodservice staff better understand allergen rules and employers comply with legislation has been launched.
The Highfield Level 2 Award in Food Allergen and Control in Catering (RQF) is aimed at anyone involved in food preparation and service within the catering, hospitality and licensing sectors, and will give employees knowledge relating to the control of ingredients and allergies at all stages of food purchase and production.
The qualification, from Highfield Qualifications – the largest provider of regulated food-safety qualifications in the UK – will also provide employees with an understanding of the process for ensuring that accurate ingredient information is available for customers at point of sale and service, while giving businesses confidence that they and their staff comply with the law.
Legislation introduced in 2014 means that businesses need to provide allergy information on any food sold unpackaged, whether via a pub, restaurant, café, deli counter, bakery or sandwich shop.
However, figures released by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) at the end of 2016 show that the number of businesses receiving warnings for failure to comply with food standards in the year after the introduction of the legislation had leapt to over 23,000 from just under 15,000 – an increase of 59 percent – with many believing confusion around the new rules to be responsible and suggesting compliance has been an issue for some.
Chris Sprenger, Managing Director at Highfield Qualifications, said, ‘The figures from the FSA show that many businesses are needlessly putting themselves at risk of prosecution and reputational damage, perhaps permanently. Even without the legislation, the issue of allergens would still be important as around 8% of children and 4% of adults have a food allergy of some description.
The Highfield Level 2 Award in Food Allergen and Control in Catering, means that businesses –large or small – will be able to help their customers make informed choices and protect their welfare, while also helping them stay compliant with the law and safeguarding their reputation’.
The qualification can be completed in five hours, and costs just £8 per learner registration.
For more information on the qualification go to https://www.highfieldabc.com/qualifications/compliance/fam/L2FAC
For regular updates, go to https://twitter.com/askhighfield and https://www.facebook.com/askhighfield
Help for healthcare employers on apprenticeship levy and assessment
Healthcare employers looking to make the most of the new apprenticeship levy will have help on hand from one of the UK’s leading awarding organisations.
Highfield Qualifications has been approved by the government to provide end-point assessment (EPA) services for the new healthcare assistant practitioner , healthcare support worker and senior healthcare support worker standards – which are currently being introduced throughout the sector – and will be offering healthcare employers a full range of support services to make the most of their potential apprenticeship levy payments.
The changes are some of the biggest ever to training in the UK, and will see new apprenticeship standards use EPAs instead of continuous assessment, meaning individual apprentices will have their work and competence assessed towards the end of their learning against criteria established by healthcare employers.
There has also been the introduction of the apprenticeship levy from May 2017, with larger employers paying into a central fund that must be used for apprenticeship training, while smaller employers will see 90 per cent of their costs covered by the government.
Chris Sprenger, Highfield MD, said, ‘With our recognition by the government as an apprentice assessment organisation (AAO), Highfield is in a position to provide specific assessment services for those organisations already taking on healthcare apprentices.
We can also offer consultancy and advice to any organisation still trying understand the changes and make the most of them – whether they are looking to take on apprentices for the first time, wanting to have their existing in-house training recognised, or searching for services and resources to ensure they claim the full share of their funding entitlement’.
He added, ‘Apprenticeships are great for businesses and can provide a welcome boost to staff development and productivity when it is most needed, but it’s vital that organisations understand from day one how to make sure the changes are of benefit to them and their employees’.
Highfield’s apprenticeship services are being offered through its Highfield Assessment brand.
For more on the healthcare standards, go to the ‘Apprenticeship Qualifications’ section of www.highfieldassessment.com
You can also contact Highfield at info@highfieldabc.net or by calling 0845 2260350.
Regular social media updates are available at https://twitter.com/askhighfield and www.facebook.com/askhighfield
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Highfield Qualifications has been approved by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) as an apprentice assessment organisation (AAO) for the provision of end-point assessment services for the healthcare assistant practitioner , healthcare support worker and senior healthcare support worker standards. Highfield’s apprenticeship services are delivered through its Highfield Assessment brand.
- Highfield Qualifications is one of the UK’s top five awarding organisations (AOs) and winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2016, offering over 250 qualifications covering a wide variety of industries including retail, health and social care, rail, food safety, security, catering and hospitality, and logistics.
UK food industry risks another horse meat scandal
Professor Chris Elliott, author of the Elliott Review into the 2013 horse meat scandal.
The UK is still at risk of another ‘horse gate’ scandal which may have been responsible for up to 50,000 horses disappearing from across Europe – that will be the warning from one of the country’s top experts at a major food industry conference later this year.
Professor Chris Elliott will tell delegates at the Food Fraud, Culture and Modern Catering Processes conference on 26 September 2017, at Doncaster Racecourse, that work still needs to be done to ensure food fraud is successfully tackled.
The conference is being organised by Highfield Qualifications , the UK’s leading awarding organisation for food safety qualifications. It was at Highfield’s previous conference in 2015 that Professor Elliott made the shocking revelation that up to 50,000 horses had ‘disappeared’ from Europe during the financial meltdown, which started in 2008.
The professor, who was appointed by the government to investigate the horsemeat scandal and food fraud in the UK, will explain that while progress has been made, food security has to remain a priority for authorities and the police or it will happen again.
Professor Elliott said, ‘A great deal of headway has been made since the publication of the Elliott Review into the Integrity and Assurance of Food Supply Networks . Plus, we’ve seen the establishment of the Food Standard Agency’s Food Crime Unit, which is beginning to have an impact.
However, food fraud must remain a priority – amongst many competing priorities for enforcement authorities – if we are to maintain that progress and ensure we see no recurrence of previous scandals’.
As well as food fraud, the conference – which is being hosted in partnership with The Society of Food Hygiene and Technology (SOFHT) – will focus on key topics across the food sector, providing delegates with knowledge and skills to improve existing food strategies and procedures within their business. Topics covered during the event will include allergens, food safety culture and the safety of low temperature catering processes.
As well as being chaired by Highfield Chairman Richard Sprenger, author of Hygiene for Management and The Food Safety Handbook , the event will feature presentations from:
- Chris Elliott, Professor of Food Safety, and Director of the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University , Belfast
- Andy Morling, Head of Food Crime at the Food Standards Agency
- Sterling Crew, Vice President of the Institute of Food Science and Technology
- Peter Littleton, Technical Director at Klenzan
- Simon Flanagan, Senior Consultant – Food Safety and Toxicology, RSSL
- Dr Andy Bowles, Specialist Food Law Solicitor and Director at ABC Food Law
Tickets for the conference cost £210 plus VAT, with discounts available for Highfield members.
For more information or to book your place, go to https://centres.highfieldabc.com/Events/Default.aspx
Alternatively, call 0845 226 0350 or email events@highfieldabc.net
For regular updates, go to
https://twitter.com/askhighfield
and
www.facebook.com/askhighfield
ENDS
Looking for your next work challenge?
Apprenticeships are changing, which means a whole new world of opportunities for employers, learners, training providers….and possibly you.
Highfield Assessment , part of the Highfield Group , is one of the UK’s leading apprentice assessment organisations (AAO), and we’re looking to create a team of high-quality team independent assessors to deliver end-point assessment to our growing portfolio of clients.
In most cases you don’t need to have worked as an assessor before of hold a qualification*. We’re far more interested in your current work experience and relevant knowledge. Plus, we’ll provide you with the training and a government-recognised qualification.
What we’re really looking for is individuals who are leaders in their field but want to make more of their experience. Knowledgeable managers, supervisors and team leaders who want to give something back to their industry. Capable and authoritative professionals who know their sector like nobody else.
In other words, experts.
As a consultant independent assessor or consultant lead independent quality assurer (IQA) with Highfield Assessment, you’ll be going into some of the biggest and most well known organisations in the country to evaluate and assess their apprentices.
Sectors we need your expertise in include:
- Retail
- Healthcare
- Customer service
- Logistics and supply chain*
- Hospitality
- LGV driving
- Banking and finance
We’re a flexible employer so you can work as a full-time or part-time employee, or even on a self-employed basis. And you can be office based or home based (though you’re quite welcome to pop into head office for a cup of tea now and then).
So if this sounds like your next challenge, go to our careers section to read the job descriptions for each specific assessor role https://www.highfieldabc.com/about-join-the-team
And if we’re not working in your sector yet, don’t worry, we soon will be. You can still send us your CV for future reference. Just email recruitment@highfieldabc.net
*Some previous assessor experience/or a qualification required
Highfield receives Dubai accreditation for lifeguarding
One of the Middle East’s leading awarding organisations has been accredited in Dubai to certify persons in lifeguarding, under new regulations designed to improve beach and pool safety.
Highfield MEA , part of the UK-based Highfield Qualifications, has been accredited under ISO standards and Dubai Municipality regulations by DAC , meaning that it can now offer approved training centres high-standard examinations and certification for persons working in the lifeguarding sector.
The organisation, which is registered with the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) , has been offering the certification of persons in Dubai and internationally for seven years and operates in around 40 countries.
It is hoped the new standards will help the Dubai Municipality to certify all lifeguards operating in the emirate before July 2017 as part of efforts to raise standards.
Richard Sprenger, Highfield Chairman, said, ‘We’d like to congratulate everyone involved in this project for all their hard work. We believe that Highfield’s experience in providing internationally recognised qualifications will help to contribute to improving standards.
Because Highfield is part of a wider group of companies, we can provide approved training centres with a complete support package that includes resources and materials that will help candidates to meet the new requirements for July 2017.
For those centres whose lifeguards may also work outside Dubai, we can also issue international qualifications, meaning that businesses can continue to use existing training companies and qualifications with the confidence that independent assessment will provide compliance within Dubai’.
Rebecca Sprenger, International Director, added, ‘Customers can be confident that centres registered with Highfield will have the highest standards of quality assurance and client care, and that because we do not provide the training ourselves, the assessment process is entirely independent’.
For more information, please contact 0971 4 449 4042 or email customerservices@highfieldabc.net
You can also find out more information at http://www.highfieldabc.ae/
New EPA qualification from Highfield
A new qualification has been launched that will support those who plan to assess apprentices undertaking end-point assessments (EPA).
The Highfield Level 3 Award in Undertaking End-Point Assessment (RQF) will provide specific knowledge and skills to those who already have sector competence within the areas of approved apprenticeship standards, but would like to gain a more specialised understanding of EPA processes and practices.
Covering assessment methods that are used in the majority of assessment plans for approved apprenticeships, it will support assessors in understanding the different types of EPA and the role of the EPA assessor.
The qualification has been designed to meet the needs of employers, training providers and assessors while embracing the wider changes happening to apprenticeships, and will ensure assessors have a qualification that is fit for purpose and covers the intricacies of the new EPA process.
It can be delivered by training centres that are recognised as Highfield approved centres, and sits on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) , which is regulated by Ofqual .
Fees per registration per candidate are:
- 0-99 £25
- 100+ £20
For more information, go to the qualification page or the FAQs .
If you’re already a Highfield approved centre and interested in delivering this qualification, contact your account manager directly.
If not, give us a call on 0845 2260350/01302 363277 or drop us a line on sales@highfieldabc.net
Highfield Assessment receives ‘5 stars’ from FE Week
We had some great news this morning thanks to FE Week, who rated Highfield Assessment ‘5 stars’ in their investigation into apprenticeship assessment organisations (AAOs).
The weekly magazine, which is read throughout the further education sector, conducted mystery shopper tests on a number of AAOs and their end-point assessment (EPA) offers, with Highfield receiving full marks!
You can read the article for yourselves (pages 10-11) at http://feweek.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FE209-Digi.pdf?mc_cid=3974ee5b08&mc_eid=8f4553ca0a
To find out more about how Highfield Assessment can help you, go to https://www.highfieldassessment.com/
Crowd Management Academy offers drone surveillance training
An innovative new training course for organisations intending to use drones for public space surveillance has been launched by Belfast-based
Crowd Management Academy
.
Linking up with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approved commercial drone operator Crowded Space Drones , the tailored course allows candidates to complete the HABC Level 2 Award for Working as a CCTV Operator (Public Space Surveillance) within the Private Security Industry (QCF) , which in turn allows them to obtain an SIA Public Space Surveillance (PSS) licence.
An SIA licence must be obtained for any organisation operating cameras in public spaces for the purposes of protection of people and property, public safety, security, crime prevention or crime detection.
Under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 any person who undertakes surveillance of public space for the purposes of security, crime detection of crime prevention under contract must hold an SIA PSS licence. Those who are using existing fixed cameras to protect their own property or employer’s property are exempt.
Andrew McQuillan, a CAA approved Drone Pilot, said, ‘Unmanned Aircraft, aka drones, are becoming more widespread in their use across the United Kingdom and indeed globally. There are so many different tasks that drones are able to do safer, cheaper and more reliably. When a drone pilot is flying they for the purposes of security, public safety or crime prevention and detection for a client, they should recognise that the cameras attached to their drone turn it into a form of CCTV camera. This is a really positive thing as it means pilots can replace existing CCTV cameras which are geographically and height restricted by where they are mounted’.
He added, ‘This joint course has been designed to ensure drone pilots comply with the Private Security Industry Act and other important legislation covering these types of flights such as the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act and Air Navigation Order. It should also make them much more competitive in this business as they can specifically target organisations who require such services such as private investigators and public authorities’.
The first course took place in early May at DronePort , Northern Ireland, the UK and Ireland’s dedicated drone airport and the former site of RAF Ballykelly.
For more information, go to http://www.crowdmanagementacademy.com/ukshop/health-and-safety.html