Deputy Minister for Farming and Food, Rebecca Evans, and the interim Chair of the Food and Drink Wales Industry Board, Robin Jones, are inviting industry representatives to join the shadow Board.

The Board is the voice of the food and drink industry in Wales, providing direction, sharing vital information and encouraging networking.

The interim Chair and shadow Board have been invited by Ministers to undertake a further recruitment exercise to increase the breadth of coverage of the Board, and to encourage applications from under-represented groups.

The Deputy Minister said,

“The food and drink industry is one of our largest business sectors, employing over 170,000 people. Supporting the industry to develop and move in positive new directions is a key priority for the Welsh Government with the aim of growing sales in the sector by 30% to £7 billion by the year 2020.

“A Food and Drink Wales Industry Board is vital for our Action Plan to become industry-led and become the voice of the wider sector in Wales.  To ensure a truly representative voice we are keen to ensure the Board attracts applications from women, disabled people, young people and individuals with an ethnic minority background who are genuinely interested in the work of the Food and Drink Wales Industry Board and can contribute to making it a high performing public body. Whoever is appointed will play a key role in ensuring we embed sustainability, competitiveness, efficiency, productivity, profitability and food safety throughout the food and drink industry and I have every confidence that once the Board is fully established it will enable us to deliver the actions of the Plan and achieve our vision of growing our industry in Wales.”

New members are being sought who have experience of the food and drink sector, particularly business management, marketing, knowledge transfer, research and development and innovation.

The shadow Board is already up and running with a positive introductory meeting under Robin’s chairmanship held on 11 March. The Board will operate in shadow form until it reaches full complement. An official launch will be held in late summer.

Advertisement and information for candidates available here.

Closing date for applications is 24 April 2015.

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