A ’2.9 million investment in the skills and professionalism of land-based and environmental businesses has been announced as part of the Employer and Investment Fund (EIF) Phase 2.
This investment fund will enable Lantra, the Sector Skills Council supporting land-based and environmental industries, create and deliver three projects tailored specifically to industry needs, aimed at increasing the skills and professionalism of the sector.
The first project involves creating a land-based business centre, which will act as a one-stop-shop for the information and support businesses need to make sensible decisions on how to invest wisely in skills and business development.
Available as an easy-to-use digital service, employers and learners will easily find a collection of sector specific information such as business planning, risk management tools and health & safety templates. This will build upon the success of Lantra’s One Stop Shop in Scotland, which averages 5,000 hits each month from businesses and individuals looking for training, while incorporating Lantra’s other successful online solutions, such as CourseFinder, FundFinder and Skills Manager.
The second project will look at a professional standards framework, encouraging the workforce to build its level of professional standards, leadership and management skills through industry-wide professional registers. This framework will help the industry earn formal recognition for increasing their skills base while helping individuals plan their professional development. This project is an expansion of the work that Lantra is already developing within specific agricultural sectors, as part of EIF phase 1 investment funding.
The final project is aimed at supporting land-based career entry and progression routes, which is important as research shows that 242,000 new entrants will be needed over the next decade to maintain current workforce numbers*. This project aims to help attract, train and recruit high quality entrants that are prepared to meet employer’s needs, thus increasing business profits and growth.
This project also looks at ways to help employers take ownership of the educational system, such as Apprenticeships. The land-based sector has a low take up of Apprenticeships, partially due to the high number of microbusinesses, so this project will identify opportunities to help businesses identify opportunities to benefit from Apprenticeships.
Peter Martin, Lantra’s Chief Executive said: ’These three projects are the beginning of a new way that Lantra will work to support the sector, providing solutions to help businesses take ownership of their professionalism and development. Going forward Lantra sees itself very much as a commercial skills consultancy, helping industry obtain the tools, skills and knowledge they need in order to position themselves for success and profitability.’
Valerie Owen OBE, Lantra’s Chair said: ’This government investment for skills is welcome news for the land-based and environmental sector in the UK. Lantra looks forward to working with land-based businesses to help maximise their returns on investment in skills through improved productivity and profit .’
The funding was awarded through the Employer Investment Fund (EIF) Phase 2, by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. The EIF is intended to drive employer-led action and investment in the skills and to help develop their professional workforce. Designed to move Sector Skills Councils away from grant funding to a fully contestable funding model, EIF fund proposals must demonstrate the strongest potential for impact in terms of enterprise, jobs and growth.
