At the start of Scottish Apprenticeship Week (7 – 11 March), NFU Scotland’s Skills Development Policy Manager George Jamieson states that the biggest hurdle the industry may face in these challenging times is finding able and motivated staff in the future.

The background to his call is a sector which must replace and upskill as much as 70 percent of the current labour force on farms and crofts over the next decade.  George writes:

Farming is fast changing, with new technology, evolving systems and climate change all having far-reaching implications for knowledge and skills. It plays a critical role in the challenges of feeding the world, reducing global warming, and enhancing biodiversity and landscape.

Agriculture has serious hurdles in meeting these challenges, but the highest hurdle may be having the staff with the required ability and motivation, as we compete for ‘talent’ with other sectors, which, at face value, may seem more attractive.

Our current report card is ‘must do better,’ as we fail to attract anything like the levels we need in apprenticeships and full-time agriculture courses. On a more practical note, for some sectors, the lack of appropriate staff may be the tipping point for a farming business.  

The average age of farm staff (farmers and employed staff) is approaching sixty. This is not an issue that is peculiar to Scotland.  The average age of farmers worldwide is rising at an alarming rate, in both developed and developing countries.

Statistics may be dry and at times self-serving, but there is no ambiguity about the fact that the farming sector must attract and support the next generation of farmers and staff, and this will depend on genuine proactive collaboration between stakeholders and a much more strategic effort from farmers and, very importantly, the entire food supply chain.
 
The Lantra Employers tool kit (https://www.scotland.lantra.co.uk/employers-toolkit) is a useful resource to help guide farmers and young people to signpost opportunities and clear up any misgivings, while Skills Development Scotland has a very helpful website ( https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk) and local offices. Local providers such as Land Based Colleges, Machinery Rings and Co-ops can offer guidance and support and, at a higher level, colleges and universities are more aware than ever of the benefits of work-based placements.

There is an urgent need to change the perception of farming and promote and offer a pathway into agriculture that offers careers that make a difference and excite young (and not so young) people of all abilities and ambitions.

There is an equal urgency to find means to help hard pressed, stressed farmers to find the type of staff who can offer not only their skills and labour, but also to share the load on decision making and perspective. This is also very relevant to the processing and retail sector if they value their supply of high-quality production of their raw materials. If farmers are to rise to the Scottish Government ambitions of a ‘Fair Work nation’ then the supply chain and the consumer must respect the value of food and the environment.

 The Skills for Farming Group, chaired and initiated by NFUS, includes the main stakeholders with an influence on Education and Skills in farming, recognises the need for bespoke, flexible, and clear pathways, offering clear routes and progression in careers in food and farming, embracing sustainable productivity, climate change and biodiversity.

This includes appropriate early opportunities such as SQA-approved school courses with work experience, Pre-apprenticeships, Modern Apprenticeships and National Certificates as a starting point for many. These offer progression by different routes, accommodating both vocational, academic and vocademic courses.

Change is constant, but the Skills for Farming Group intends to keep courses and delivery within the Pathway focussed on the needs of industry, new entrants, and providers.

This is a plea to all farmers, to consider the urgency of our situation, and become more proactive in offering support, in whatever means suits your circumstances and skillset, to new entrants into the sector.

The Skills for Farming Group is actively collaborating to raise the efforts of industry, education, government agencies, and directly with Government officials, but the farming community must become more aware and active in attracting and supporting staff, working with training /education providers and government agencies to ensure we have all the moving parts working in the same direction.

Farming has not become less relevant; indeed, it is the most important global sector as it seeks to sustainably feed the world’s expanding population, react to climate change and biodiversity by managing the vast majority of the land base. To do our job we need skilled and motivated people on the land.