Reducing the perceived skills gap is vitally important for the land based sector in the 21st Century and is a key driver for the establishment of the NLBC.
The AgriSkills Strategy (February 2010) sets out to achieve a profitable, sustainable industry, valued by society, capable of meeting the demands of agriculture and land management in the 21st century. This strategy identifies the need for a culture change towards greater recognition of continuous professional development for the improvement of business performance, competitiveness and sustainability. It identifies the need for strong partnerships across industry, education and government to ensure the vision is achieved, and asks industry to do more, and at a faster pace, to fully embrace skills provision and increase the professionalism of their sector as a whole. A goal of this strategy is the creation of a Careers & Skills Framework for the sector and NLBC is delighted to be a part of the working group (including AHDB, Sainsbury’s and the NFU), chaired by Lord Curry, that is taking this forward. The framework will provide a roadmap to careers, training and career progression across land based industries and our vision is to link this framework to digital tools for professional registration, CPD, e-learning and digital credentialing.
Two government reports published within the last three months highlight perfectly the importance given to technical skills development. The first of these reports is the UKCES Employer Skills Survey 2015: UK Report (May 2016) from the UK Commission for Employment & Skills.
The UKCES report shows that the largest perceived technical skills gap lies in agriculture (in its widest sense, including horticulture, forestry, etc.). There is no disputing the increasing importance of technology across all land based sectors. The ability to find out about new technology, and learn how best to use it, is central to its adoption. This UKCES report states that the use of e-learning is generally increasing, but then states that the lowest rates for e-learning adoption lie within ‘agriculture’. There is clear potential to link up some of the existing e-learning resources and then focus on the creation of content and training to fill the identified gaps – working collaboratively to ensure maximum effectiveness. One of the key aims of NLBC is to be that ‘virtual college’ for the land based sector.
July 2016 saw the publication of the Post-16 Skills Plan, which came out of the report from a panel chaired by Lord Sainsbury reviewing technical education. This is a landmark document for the future of UK technical training and offers massive potential for the land based sector and NLBC. We’re delighted that this report puts employers firmly in the lead position in terms of skills development. It is crucial that the right people and organisations take that lead and that the education providers are firmly in-the-loop, the vision for UK skills can’t be fully achieved unless all sectors work together. This report drives this integration and engagement and the role for NLBC (in our position between providers, awarding bodies and industry) could be crucial as this plan is rolled out and delivered.
Other notable points within this report are:
- The identified need for National Colleges to lead on the design and delivery of technical skills, particularly for higher levels (4-6).
- The expectation to see ‘innovative ways of working across further education, higher education, providers and industry’.
- Technical qualifications must be attractive to all – not just failed A level students.
- Development of overarching strategies for digital training and careers guidance.
- 15 vocational areas are identified in the report and each will only have one allocated awarding body by 2019 when the report is implemented.
This last point undoubtedly gives NLBC a massive opportunity through our working relationship with City & Guilds, however, much can happen between now and 2019 and we’d like to see more collaboration and joined up thinking across all bodies awarding land based qualifications. The sector is too small for us to not work together for the greater gain and the Trailblazer Apprenticeships could provide just that opportunity.
NLBC’s mission is ‘championing skills for land based industries’ and we’re inspired about the potential for NLBC to link organisations and initiatives and make a genuine contribution to bridging the land based skills gap.
