TIAH, England’s new home of skills and careers support for agriculture and horticulture, aims to help people and businesses fulfil their potential and the industry thrive. 

TIAH provides access to tailored advice, support, and training for lifelong learning for those involved in agriculture and horticulture or interested in farming and growing careers. 

The Senior Leadership Group (SLG) has been advocating the formation of a professional body for agriculture and horticulture since 2018. TIAH became an officially independent charity on 1 July 2021 after Defra confirmed its support in the Agricultural Transition Plan. 

Agriculture and horticulture are undergoing huge changes. Many farmers and growers will need to adapt to ensure their businesses will be profitable and sustainable whilst contributing positively to the environment. 

To be successful, enough skilled workers must be available at the right time with the proper training. This will mean learning new skills and expanding existing ones in many cases. TIAH aims to transform the current fragmented approach to skills and training by integrating the industry’s existing methods. 

TIAH is aimed at everyone who can benefit from, or support, skills development in agriculture and horticulture. Including: 

• The agriculture and production horticulture industry – including employees and employers  
• Training providers  
• Stakeholder organisations  
• Teachers and careers advisers  
• Prospective new entrants to the industry – those leaving school, college or university and career-changer. 

TIAH will have a variety of services available. These will include: 

• Support – a central hub will bring together existing and new training opportunities from across the industry. It will direct users to relevant training courses and information based on their career goals. The site will also allow employers and employees to track training and achievements. In addition to proving compliance, this also simplifies audits and record keeping 

• Signposting – TIAH will act as a coordinator, sharing new and innovative farming practices and policy updates with the industry 

• Labour market information – TIAH will collect reliable data on the labour market, workforce needs and skills gaps from market research. 

• Careers information – A careers hub will provide information on dozens of careers, the skills needed for each job, and opportunities to help people advance their careers.  

• Professional framework -To help individuals identify the skills needed, a competency framework will be available. This will also allow employers to be more involved in the training process. 

Instead of replacing what’s already available, our work will enhance it. For the benefit of everyone involved in agriculture and horticulture, we’ll work together with partners from across the industry to provide a framework for career development and lifelong learning. 

We recognise that the devolved nations are developing their own skills strategies. However, we anticipate greater collaboration and a broader focus across the UK supply chain in the future. These ideas must be explored with all the relevant partners before any decisions are made.  

TIAH will be an independent membership organisation. There will be costs to using parts of the system. This will ensure that our products and services can be maintained and developed to remain appropriate for industry.   

We will offer our products and services through TIAH’s online platform. The platform is expected to launch in 2023.  

However, ahead of launch, we are running a pilot scheme with representatives from the industry. To add value, we need farmers to help us to develop services for farmers.