FOOD AND DRINK SECTOR SKILLS
TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED)
INCLUDING DIRECTORS, REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2020
The Trustees prtsent their report and audited fil￿17￿al sbienienls for U)e year endfyyl 31 Maicli 2020.
Structure. Governance and Management
Food 2nd Drink Se¢tor Skill-
a company limitcd by guarant¢c, not having a ￿l￿ar¢ c4pital. It is
registered in Northem Ireland Iregistralion number.. Nl 0258531 and has obtained charitable status
wllh Charities Commission Nonhem Ireland (reference number. NIL 1014t>31. It is govemed by its
Memorandum and Articles ofAssouation.
The aoeDunL havc bcen prcparcd in oc¢ordan¢e with the a￿￿untIng polici￿ ¥¢t out in notco to th¢
accounts and comply the companies. Memorandum and Artides of Assocaalion, the Companies
Act 20Q6 and 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Stslement of Recommended Practi
applicablo tr) ¢haritiÈg prèpsring th¥ir accounts sn accordance with the Financial Reporbng Standard
applieable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 1021" 13$ amended for accounting periods
commencing from 1 January 2uitii.
Trustee5
miv TiublEe¥, who dle ¢1150 the diFeGtOSs for the purpD5e Df wmpany law, and whg served during the
year were..
G Boyd
T Cander
M Dawson
C Dgvlin
O Donnelly
J Proctor
G FprgiJ%nn
{Ch8irpersonl
(De￿aSed September 2019)
Governlng Document
The company was incorporated in Northem I￿land as the Food and Drink Industry Trainino Advisory
Council and is govemed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The Charity is registered
as a Company limited by 9uarantee and not having Share Gapital.
Recruitment and Training of Trustees
The Charity i-
-"Dlg of not more than 18 mÈmbtrrÉ èlatttÈd by thè
governed by IL comrnittee which con-
company al a general meeting and include the following-.
The nhairman forthe time heing of cornpany who shall be a m8mbèr ex￿clO.
D) 111 more tnan seven memLJers nominatett Dy employers. organisallons trom me looa an
drink industry who are members of the cornpany.
lil) Nvl Iiiui& Iliclll fiv¥ Iii¥iiib¥i2> fuj w¥liviii. buii¥IiUy, theiE are no reco9nised eniployer5'
organisations and who together shall be broadly representative of the f(x)d 2nd drink industy.
Not more than tsvo members nominated by organisatons involved in education. tralning or
management dev¢lopment.
d)
Not more than three other Members of the company, not being eligible for election under
categori?$ Ibl and {cl ¥bove.
Where a Trustee of the Charity resigns their position on the board, the organisation who initially
nominatcd them wtll bc approachcd to nominate anothcr kn¥Uitablc individual. Their n3me will thert be
put lo the board for approval. The organisation does not provide induction ortraining to new members

FOOD AND DRINK SECTOR SKILLS
TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED)
INCLUDING DIRECTORS, REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2020
as it eAptrcts their noiiiinabTig L)rgbiiisaituii iu ellbUlE itial itriey li¢aV¥ ¥uifiueiil bkillts ali(5 experiEiiLe Lu
enable them to Cary out their duties effectively.
D¢¢ision Making Structur¢
The Board meets four times per year (plus AGM) and is responsible for setting strategy and
reviewnglamending all work carried out on behalf of the company. Additionally, the Chaiman and
Directors 2ro updated on th• progress of work on a regular basis typicglly monthly - this is usually
via face lo face meetings or phone calls.
Risk Management
The board does not maintsin a wr>tten risk register.. however, the managernenl committee examine
U-ie i)l¢ljVI iiikb tli&l IliE Cliarily ItLLeb iri lib uperdliviib dEvelvpETJ iv Iiiviiilui ciiiQ
control these risks in order to mitigate any imp8¢t that they could have on the organisation.
obje￿iVeS and Activities
Principal Activities
The principal activity of the organisation is lo promote and advance the education and training of
p•rsons •mploy•d or inlonding to bo 0mploy￿ in tho fo¢)d and drink industry in North•m Ireland.
Vision
A Workforcè for 2 wodd tlass industy-
Mlsslon
To develop business perforrnance by ensurinq the effectiveness and effiuency of people development
relevant to the industry.
Objecttves
Food arKI Drink Sector Skills will work wtthin the industry to 2chieve its people development mission
by..
Promoting a people development culture.
[denti￿ng people development needs.
Farilitxting thp. prnviqinn nf A rangp nf qiirJpnrt.4prvir.p* tn mpp.t thp riirrent sjnd future people
development needs.
Provlde key training setvices.
Ensuring that national standards match local needs and by en¢ouragino companies to
achieve these standards.
Pro￿OtIng thE industry's n¢eds.
These objectives are achieved through close contsct wth the industry and through the use of
experienced &￿0Clate teache￿ in each -
-pecffic progrsin.
Achievemènts and Performance
During thp year the comp8ny delivered thp hllowing training eniJtsg¢'
FOO(J SafeEy Training at Level 2 was (Jeiivere¢J to enaDie companles to comply wllh legal requlrements
detailed under General Food regulations 2004.
FDSS absibts th¥ National Skills Academy for Food and Drink wth Iheir work on the updating of
National Occupational Stand8rds 8$ they apFdy to the Food Manufacturing Sector- part of the suite
of Standards is updated annually, requiring employer input - thgse included Food Safety. Food
scien￿ & TeGhnology, and Spirit Industry rslat¢d £tandard- for the ycar cndcd.

FOOD AND DRINK SECTOR SKILLS
TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED)
INCLUDING DIRECTORS, REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2020
FDSS èlbD hab a seat on the Industry SeGtoral Partlletship for FDod in Nuriheiii IieldllTJ". Illi¥ bvdy 1>
tssked with the development of suitable employer endorsed frameworks for Apprenti￿sh[pS, and this
year saw WO￿ completed on level 2, with level 3 to follow.
This year has seen the development of 8 pilot scheme which is aimed at local food companies
becoming the focus of a network for local schools in a symbiotic relationship aimed al skills
dgvglopm9nt and soctoral attractiV9ness forthe industry will r&c•iv& 2 steady pipeline of enthusiastic
young people and schools will have a solid link which they tsn exploit for 8 variety of purposes.
FD88 rn2nag￿ 2nd dplivpr8 the T28fy Careèrs prcoramma whith has proven to be an effective
careers awareness tool for the Ioc21 Agri-Food sector. Tasty Careers sends ambassadors into local
Schools to presen1 Ihelr stortes to students.. the programme also has a 5trDng uiiliiie piEbEiib¥.
Additionally. the company has also taken part in School careers events and is represented on a
number of foo¢J skills rElated groups inGluding the Mini5tertsal Chaired Future
Okili8 Action Group for
Food.
-the factthat Cowd 19 tsstri¢tions saw much work rgduc8d and lik¥lyto r•main $0 for sevÈr¥l
Of note i-
months into 2020.
Financial Reviw
Results
Total income decrease¢ from £35.952 in 2019. to £13.708 In 2020. The Gmadty generated a neyativE
financial outcome for the period with a nel decrease in funds of £76,078 (2019.. £25,203).
RESEfVEi PiJliLy
The Committee has estsblished a policy whereby the unrestricted ￿ndS not committed or inve51ed in
tsngible fixed assets {'Ihe free resources'} held by the Charity should be four months of the
unrestrioted reoour¢es expooed. which equat￿ to £35.309_ At thi- leval, tho Committ99 mombars
feel thalthey would be able to continue the current activities ofthe Charity. In the event of a significant
drop in fijnding. it would obviously be necessary to consider how the funding would be replaced or
activities changed. At present the free resources arè blblow the t8ryJpl 1p.vpl At P.fj.QQfj.
Ihe Lommittee h85 ensured thai any remaining b8ian¢es on restrlcted funds transferred tt)
unrestricted ftjnds will not have to be repaid and c2n be spent at the discretion of the charity.
Reserves are to be used to fund activities, in line with the organisation's stated objeth"ves. The
utilization of IEtseives wll be i¥vi¥w¥¥J 4Ur4rteily.
Note 1 to the financial statemerrts contains Ihe necessary disctosures relating to the Chartty's ability
to c￿ntInue 83 a going concern.
Investment Policy
Tha Committ89's policy for inv•stm•nts is to invest in soeurities that b>. rp_Adily r￿nV￿rted into
cash which will provide income to supplement the organisations charitable income. Regular reviews
are carned out by The Committee ot ine wort( un¢Jenaken by Gunningnam Coate5 Stockbrokers on
thp P.h%rity'q hp.h21f_
Plans for ftrture perfod5
The Charity's plans for frjture periods wÉll remain broadly in line with its core organisational objective
which is the development of skills and people within the agri-food industry. In the short term the
ft)cus wll be to continue tr) promot& the 8ector81 attra¢tivene-- of thc tndu*y 3t BÈcondary and
terbary level education by enlisting the help of young ambassadors from meTnber companies., we also

FOOD AND DRINK SECTOR SKILLS
TRUSTEES. REPORT (CONTINUED)
INCLUDING DIRECTORS, REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2020
hope to develup IhE bLhoolblLuiTIPiaiiieb yaiLfi¥isliip fuillivr aiid one of the obje¢tives from this shtsul
be the employment of those younger people with less acaden#c qu8ltfi¢ations. This in tum wll
continue to help lead towards the realisation ofour medium and long4erm goals forthe industry, being
the Gommitment of businesses, govemment and -takcholdcry in the edu¢)tion sactor to 8n 81ignod
strategy for skills and people development, targeting increased GVA and best in class operations.
Tho onsot of Broxit may provide Opportun￿￿$ #s the Charity us* it* rp.*ni&rco to sssist local
companies through this prO￿$S in terms of advice and ongoing support, parttcularfy to the SME
sector.
COVID
The onset of COVID and the lockdown meantth8t FDSS was faced wth a dramatic potential downturn
in work with can￿lIationS of al5 planned face to face meetings and presentations. However, we were
-hort to middlo torm picture is
able to utilise the fudough scheme to scc us through thi3. Whilrt thc -
uncertain. we are conts"nually seeking out viable areas of work. preferably funded.
St8tement of Trustccs. Responsibilitiès
The Trustees, who are also the directors of Food and Drink Sector Skills forthe purpose of company
law, are responsible for preparing the Report and the accounts In accordance with appllcable law and
United Kingdom Accounting St3ndsrd* 1t1nit￿ Kinudom Generalty Accepted Accounting Practice}.
Lompany Law requires the Trustees io prepare account5 for e&Lli f511ancial year which give a true
and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitsble company and of the incoming resources and
application of resources. including the income and expenditure. of the charitsble company for that
year.
In preparing these accounts. the Trustees are fftquired to:
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistenUy-,
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP",
make judgements and estimalos that arp rpAqnnAhlp prudenL
state whether applicable UK Accounting StsndaTds h8ve been followed. subject to any
material departures olisdosed and explained in ihe acGounts", and
prp.pare the accounts Dn the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that
the Charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable
accuracy at any time the financial position ofthe Charity and enable them to ensure that the 8ccounts
Comply with the Companies Act 2006. They a￿ also responsiblg for $3fe9uarding tho 2ssets of thp
Charity and han￿ for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other
irregularitses.
The report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
On bohalf o
thp_ hoxrd
¢.i£J
Dete:
G Boyd
Trustee