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Industry unites to tackle labour shortage

A careers steering group, co-ordinated by TIAH, met recently to discuss ways to attract more people into farming and growing careers.

We're working to help farmers and growers improve their skills and careers progression.

03/02/23

The group involved representatives from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), the Chartered Institute of Horticulture, LANTRA, LEAF, the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, National Farmers Union Education, and the Tenant Farmers Association.

It was held as a follow-up to the cross-industry careers roundtable hosted by TIAH late last year, which led to an agreement on a careers action plan.

The first meeting of the industry’s careers steering group – facilitated by TIAH – focused on identifying gaps in careers support. Group members also discussed how to enhance our ability to influence new entrants through collaboration with several excellent initiatives. The group felt there were two missing elements: a need to influence the people who influence career seekers, i.e., careers professionals, teachers, and parents, and a need to provide more opportunities for work experience in the sector. In addition, the group agreed to support the industry so more people feel confident about offering work experience.

The Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain Labour Review Team, chaired by John Shropshire, asked the group to discuss future skills and labour needs. It was critical for the group to understand the barriers that farmers and growers faced in attracting and keeping staff, how the demand for training had evolved, and possible solutions to improve the uptake of training. TIAH’s recent Labour Market Information research also greatly interested them. TIAH has also shared the research findings with the Review panel.