Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week

Speaking on behalf of TIAH, Board member Richard Longthorp, who's a lifelong supporter of skills and careers development, is urging agricultural and horticultural businesses to consider taking on apprentices to help develop the next generation of skilled workers.

The issue of recruiting and retaining skilled staff within agriculture and horticulture isn’t anything new. However, to mitigate serious labour issues in the future, our industry needs to change its mindset.

Put simply, accessibility to the workforce we've had in the past isn’t going to be there in the future, so we need to look beyond the traditional routes of attracting staff, like advertising in farming publications, and collectively take on more responsibility for developing and nurturing new talent.

I appreciate this is a long-term piece of work, but until employers recognise that we all have a role to play in developing and nurturing new talent, our labour outlook won't change; in fact, it will just become even more challenging.

One way that agricultural and horticultural employers can take on more responsibility for attracting new talent is by taking on an apprentice.

Apprenticeships – what are they?

Apprenticeships offer people of any age the opportunity to gain practical skills in an industry setting while attaining accredited qualifications and getting paid.

Over the last few years, Trailblazer Apprenticeships, which are industry-led, have gradually replaced pre-existing apprenticeship programmes to ensure that apprentices gain practical skills that are desirable and relevant for the industry.  You can find out more about Trailblazer Apprenticeships on the AHDB website here.

Taking on an apprentice – why?

While taking on an apprentice might be something that many employers haven’t considered previously, I’d strongly recommend it given the benefits on offer.

For example, having apprentices start their career on your farm allows you to shape your workforce to suit your business needs, it can free up existing employee’s time to develop other areas of the business and, it’s an extremely valuable opportunity to showcase the best of what the industry has to offer.

Taking on an apprentice does require time investment, and a question that I quite often face is: ‘Why should I invest my time in training someone for them to leave and join another business?’

However, my argument is that good people will want to progress. If that progression isn’t available within your business, you should send that enthusiastic and determined young person on their way. Don’t get me wrong – it doesn’t come easy. It’s happened to us on several occasions, but good people will be ambitious, which is critical for the industry's future sustainability.

Taking on an apprentice – how?

If you’re interested in taking on an apprentice, as a first step, you should contact your local college or training provider to discuss your requirements and understand what apprenticeships they offer and whether they have any apprentices waiting for a position.

If they don’t, you can make apprenticeship opportunities on your farm known to your local community by sharing the position online, via community social media groups and in local publications.

Taking on an apprentice – my experience

Over the years, we’ve taken on various apprentices, but Sean King, who joined us as an apprentice many years ago after leaving the mining industry, now oversees our outdoor pig enterprise.

As an employer, there’s no better reward than watching someone like Sean, who joined us with very few formal qualifications, grow in their career and take on new roles. I’d really encourage others to consider taking on an apprentice – it’s one of the most satisfying parts of my job.

More needs to be done to promote apprenticeships

While we have some fantastic apprenticeship opportunities available, we need to do more as an industry to promote these schemes to both employers and potential employees. Going forward, the vision is that TIAH will become the home of skills and professional development, and as part of this, they'll further promote apprenticeships.