Level 2

If you are thinking about a professional qualification in food and drink for your team, then the starting point is to consider each employee's role, their responsibilities and the areas where you feel you either would like to see improvement or where you need to be able to demonstrate their competence.

A Modern Apprenticeship Level 2 qualification is a good option for employees who do not have a professional qualification in food and drink, and the majority of their role is not at management level. For those at management level, a Level 3 option is the better option (please see below).  

For employees with some supervisory experience, we can take them through the Level 2 qualification and also include some Level 3 units to help them develop in their supervisory role.

Within the Level 2 qualification, the employee will achieve a certificate in food safety and health and safety.

An overview of the qualification

A Level 2 qualification in Food and Drink Operations requires a candidate to complete eight units, two of which are mandatory.  All of the pathways within an SVQ are relevant to a specific sector in the food and drink industry.  This is undertaken in the workplace to assess a candidate’s competence whilst they are doing their job.  If we feel an employee is not meeting the required standard, we will work with them to help them achieve this.  If you have any specific concerns or areas you want us to focus, then we can also build this into the programme.

The pathways involved in a Food and Drink Operations Level 2 qualification are below. Please click on them to view the pathway criteria and units involved within each of them.

Candidates undertaking the qualification must also achieve a set of Coreskills and complete two additional requirements if they haven't already achieved them in previous education, for more information please click here.

To find out more about each of these pathways and how they could work within your industry, please get in touch.

Level 3

A Level 3 qualification in Food and Drink Operations requires a candidate to complete eight units, one of which is mandatory. 

This tends to be a progression from Level 2 but can be used from the start for candidates who are in a more supervisory or technical role.  This is also undertaken in the workplace and is carried out to assess a candidate’s competence whilst they are doing their job.

The pathways involved in a Food and Drink Operations Level 3 qualification are below.  Please click on them to view the pathway criteria and units involved within them.

Candidates undertaking the qualification must also achieve a set of Coreskills and complete two additional outcomes from the SVQ, for more information please click here.


To find out more about each of these pathways and how they could work within your industry, please get in touch.

Need Help? Contact our Support Centre for more information