This is brilliant Benty!
Right a few ideas...
Qualification wise in the UK, you could do with getting level 4 food hygiene and level 4 HACCP if you don't already have them. Apart from that, you don't need to have a degree in the subject but if you don't already have a degree, it might be worth asking your workplace if you can do one via an apprenticeship as if they're big they have bags of "use it or lose it" apprenticeship cash. Honestly I don't think it will help you massively in your career but if you ever change companies it will help and it also sends a message to senior leaders that you're serious. An internal auditing qualification is also good, e.g. the BRCGS internal auditing course if you're certificated to that standard. I wouldn't bother with PCQI unless you export to the US or want to move internationally later.
Then there's the informal learning. Getting out to some Campden seminars is good. They're not as good as they used to be but I always learn something and it's great networking. Volunteering to go to retailer Technical Conferences will also ease the pressure on the current TM and help you realise what's needed.
Apart from technical qualifications, the biggest change is managing more people as you get more senior and managing what they do and their performance. That's tough and while you're probably already doing it in your role now, a more structured role of a QA (who might report into you) isn't quite the same as managing supervisors or even managing managers (in some companies you might have three levels below a Technical Manager). For this, I'd recommend getting a mentor. Unfortunately you've just missed the latest round of Flourish in Food but it opens twice a year I think: Be a Mentee | Flourish in Food also try mentoring in your own company. Making good relationships with Ops and Maintenance is always important and they have bags of people management experience. Why not ask to be mentored by a senior Ops leader?
Lastly, the biggest thing I found which was a change was being the point of contact for retailers if you are in a retailer branded business. Getting exposure to the retailers is a big part of getting into that TM role in the UK as it's such a big part of the job. Ways to ease yourself into this is to be in the room when they do opening and closing meetings for visits, going along for taste panels, getting involved in tours with technologists when there are first productions etc. By volunteering for stuff like that you help your TM but also you build the skills.
What I'd do is build all of the above and good ideas I'm sure others will come along with as well into a development plan for getting to a TM role in x timescale, what you'll do, by what dates etc and that you're interested. Get some time with your manager to talk it through. If they're a good manager, they will LOVE you for this. But not all managers are good managers.
Get a feel for how it's greeted and especially if you don't think they'll be advocating for you behind your back, I'd spend some time with other senior leaders in the business. Just so you can "ask their advice on the next steps for you" (you could even make that part of your dev plan). It doesn't look like you're going above your manager's head to say "hey, I'm here and I want the next role" but actually you are. It's quite easy to do. Most leaders will say yes if you send them a message asking for "30 minutes to talk about my development" and will see you really positively for even asking. In those conversations, do a lot of listening, what things do these leaders look out for in TMs? What areas do they feel you need to develop in? Are there any temporary positions coming up or projects where you could learn new skills etc.
And I think this is a BRILLIANT question to ask from a group of people with 1000s of years of experience between us. I only wish I'd taken control of my career earlier than I did.
