Attracting new talent means talking their language

I spoke to the Committee of MPs alongside several other industry representatives. It gave TIAH an important platform to highlight our view on how labour shortages in agriculture and horticulture should be tackled and the role we play. 

My take-home message for the Committee was that, to attract new people into farming and growing, and to support their ongoing career development, the industry and government needs to take a different approach to what has gone before.  

The starting point for making farming and growing careers more attractive is to speak the right language. 

Outdated view of farming and growing still prevalent

Our research has found that many people outside the industry have an outdated view of farming and growing, often not helped by how it's portrayed in the media. 

As an industry, we need to break free of these negative perceptions by describing the ‘why’ of farming and growing. 

All children are consumers of food. They all have a personal stake in how it's produced and how they consume it. So, we must talk to them about the need to produce enough high quality food while protecting the countryside and the exciting role that innovative technology is beginning to play in addressing this challenge.  

We need to show people that farming isn’t the slow, old-fashioned industry they might think it is but a place where highly skilled people are applying their skills to a dynamic issue that’s pivotal to a healthy, sustainable, forward-thinking society. 

It also means understanding the motivations of the new generation of industry workers. What will keep them excited about their careers so they want to stay in the industry? In addition to communicating the ‘why’ of food production, we must enable people to have their achievements recognised and to demonstrate their professionalism to their peers. As the industry’s professional body, TIAH has a vital role to play in facilitating this. 

Promote clear routes into the industry

On a practical level, we need to ensure the routes into the industry are clearly signposted and that people are supported throughout their working lives to continuously develop their skills. 

Industry organisations, from the land-based colleges to the awarding bodies, such as Lantra, BASIS and City & Guilds, are doing fantastic work. But the landscape can look quite fragmented from the outside, and it can be confusing to know where to go for training or to understand the varied career pathways that are available.  

Working with partners in government, industry, and education, TIAH’s role is to provide an easy access point where everybody - parents, teachers, and young people, as well as those already working in food production - can go to find out how to break into the industry and to understand how they can continuously develop their careers.  

TIAH is a co-ordinating force

I highlighted at the EFRA Committee that TIAH will not duplicate what's already being done but provide a co-ordinating force that makes it easier for people to enter and progress within the industry. 

I also made the point that farming and growing businesses need the right support as we seek to strengthen our workforce.  

Part of that involves being able to see the bigger picture - using data to identify workforce trends and inform the action that needs to be taken now to address labour issues coming down the line in the years ahead. 

But it also means supporting the thousands of small to medium farming businesses which, for a variety of valid reasons, may currently struggle to offer work experience or take on an apprentice. We must ensure we have the right infrastructure to support incoming new talent. As the professional body, TIAH can provide some of that essential skills training for host farmers, as well as trainees.  

While there is a lot of work to do, I’m encouraged by the sense that things are changing and there's a strong appetite for collaboration. I hope the EFRA Committee will use its influence to support a much-needed new approach. 

Watch Stephen’s evidence session on the UK Parliament website.