LANTRA SCOTLAND WORKPLAN
2022-23 www.scotland.lantra.co.uk #NoTwoDaysTheSame #CountrysideCareers
LANTRA SCOTLAND WORKPLAN The work of Lantra Scotland aligns with the priorities of the Scottish Government and assists the delivery of a Just Transition to a Green Economy in areas including education, farming, environment, aquaculture, forestry and conservation. We play a key role in the advancement of the sustainable rural economy through the skills development of its workforce.
WORKING TOGETHER
To support the rural economy and enhance Scotland’s natural environment, by increasing the number and diversity of skilled employees in Scotland’s land-based and aquaculture sector In close partnership with Scottish Government, education partners, workforce development and skills agencies, trade organisations, membership bodies and individual businesses
LANTRA SCOTLAND WORKPLAN
THEMES Key to the successful delivery of Lantra’s work in Scotland is the ongoing support of the Scottish Government and it is to this end that we submit this workplan. Our key themes are:
1. Promoting the sector as a positive and rewarding career choice, to: Increase the number of new entrants (including young people) Increase influencers’ awareness and understanding of career opportunities Support more employers and employees to champion skills and career opportunities Increase equality and diversity within the sector
2. Supporting the development and maintenance of a skilled and diverse workforce, to: Increase awareness and understanding of land-based learning and training provision Ensure that Skills policies, strategies and support reflect the needs of land-based businesses Increase the uptake of land-based learning and training provision Improve quality and range of training provision
3. Understand skills needs and gaps and ensure skills policies and provision help to address them and to: Increase awareness and understanding of the business benefits of investing in learning, skills development and training Increase investment in learning, skills development and training and improved business performance
Although our themes remain relatively constant, the key activities we undertake in order to deliver on our workplan naturally evolve from year to year to reflect the changing needs of the sectors we support.
IMAGE BY MOHAMED HASSAN FROM PIXABAY
TOWARDS THE NEXT NORMAL
Although we had all hoped that 2021 would see a return to more normal practice, restrictions continued. As we enter the new year it remains unclear as to what threat the current Covid-19 variant will pose. Despite such uncertainties, we will continue to 'pivot' our delivery, ensuring we align support to meet the needs of industry, the sector and our communities. Throughout the last year we have ensured we continue to be at the heart of sector skills developments, supporting change where it is required and sharing the best practice with others. We look forward to continuing this work into the coming year and beyond, with some exciting new projects and activities helping to ensure our sector can meet its skills needs, including a new responsive and innovative approach to qualification review and development. At the same time we aim to return to some more 'traditional' approaches to our key events, with the ALBAS and the Highland Show returning to a non-virtual format in 2022.
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KEY ACTIVITIES FOR 2022-23
HEART OF THE SKILLS NETWORK Lantra will remain fully embedded in key skills groups, committees and working groups, ensuring we are ideally placed to respond to new developments and challenges as they arise. We will ensure we remain flexible in outlook, whilst keeping focussed on the aims and objectives of each of the groups we support. Our ‘conversations with industry’ continue to be integral to successful work plan evolution and delivery, helping to ensure that we are responsive to the changing needs of the sector post-Brexit, post-pandemic and into the 'next normal'. During the coming year, Lantra will continue to play a key role in supporting delivery of the Scottish Forest & Timber Technologies Skills Action Plan, the Aquaculture Skills Action Plan, and the Skills Action Plan for Rural Scotland, helping to ensure all actions are tracked and supported through to completion. Whether at an individual or national level, we will ensure our message is engaging, credible, effective and accessible for every audience. We will ensure influencers’ are fully aware of, and understand, the wide range of career opportunities that the sector presents. We will do this by ensuring land based has a 'place' at career events across the country, supported by employers and employees happy to champion skills and career opportunities. We will work to support the work of the Commission for the Land-Based Learning Review, to help increase access to, and uptake of land-based learning and training opportunities. Lantra will work to identify skills needs and gaps and ensure skills policies and provision help to meet sector needs.
KEY ACTIVITIES FOR 2022-23
TIME FOR CHANGE The apprenticeship system is changing to ensure it is responsive to the opportunities and challenges created by changes to how we work. We will continue to support the work of our Framework and Standards colleagues to ensure the in depth review of vocational qualifications and training within this area is informed and led by industry, with direct involvement of key employers and employees. We will help to implement the agreed changes in Aquaculture, and will support the reviews within Agriculture, Conservation and Wildlife Management , Horticulture and Trees and Timber. This work provides a fantastic opportunity to improve the quality and range of vocational training provision. By ensuring key employers and apprentices are at the heart of this process, we will ensure that the sector's needs are met, as well as increase awareness and understanding of the business benefits of investing in learning, skills development and training.
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KEY ACTIVITIES FOR 2022-23
AQUACULTURE Aquaculture currently contributes around £885 million to the wider Scottish economy and in 2018 was supporting 11,700 jobs. The sector, directly employs 3,000 people across the Northern & Western Isles, Highland and Argyll & Bute. Aquaculture continues to bring new talent into the industry reflecting both the wide range of new opportunities that it presents, as well as an aging workforce. Aquaculture continued to recruit apprentices throughout the pandemic, at a range of levels, and submitted more learners to our ALBAS than any other. However, this is currently an area with no full-time college based provision nor does it have a mainland centre for practical training. Although vocational learning is effective and efficient, this can mean it is less 'visible' in other career pathways. To this end, we will act on the findings of the research that we have commissioned into Aquaculture Learning Pathways, delivering on the recommendations and ensuring any gaps in provision are filled. We will also help to 'embed’ the 202122 development work on the new apprenticeship frameworks and competence-based qualifications, helping to ensure they are ready and able to support vocational learners in the coming year. We will continue our work with the Aquaculture STEM Ambassadors to raise the profile of the sector and to increase schools engagement activities. We will build on the findings of the Secondary Schools competition and look to deliver a similar opportunity to Primary schools in 2022.
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KEY ACTIVITIES FOR 2022-23
AGRICULTURE
Although robotics and increased automation has been described as essential for the future growth of the agriculture sector, seasonal labour will still be required, as will more operational posts. The latter in particular tend to be recruited locally through word of mouth, personal recommendations or engaged through subcontracting arrangements. This, combined with the small size of the average farming businesses can mean that delivering work-based learning can be challenging. In 2022-23 we plan to implement the recommendations from our research into the benefits that apprentices can bring to an agricultural enterprise, to better support and promote work-based learning in this sector. At the same time we will continue to support the PreApprenticeship delivery and to look to where this model could be effective in other areas, such as Peatland Restoration and Forestry. We will also ensure the input of key individuals and stakeholders, such as Skills for Farming, the NFUS, SAOS, Women in Agriculture, Sustainable Farming, Crofting and Smallholder representatives help to inform both the vocational qualification review and the development of the new Higher National qualifications in Agriculture and Agricultural Technologies. The former will ensure that the apprentice and the employer are central to the design and delivery of vocational learning. The latter, designed to reduce over assessment and to improve the learner experience, will help to improve quality and range of training provision and by increase the uptake of land-based learning and training provision at the higher levels.
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KEY ACTIVITIES FOR 2022-23
HORTICULTURE Research indicates that in the future, uptake of training in the area of digital and technology skills, automation, water efficiency (e.g smart irrigation) and people management will increase. Although, like agriculture, there is an increasing drive towards automation and robotics within this sector, there will still be a strong demand for practical skills, particularly where hand eye co-ordination and people skills are essential. At the same time, interest in this area continues to grow, as local food production and therapeutic horticulture increase in profile. In 2022-23 we will continue to support the development of the new HN Horticulture, as well as the development of a new qualification that supports teachers to develop an educational horticulture project within their school. At the same time, we will support the work of our Framework and Standards colleagues in the review and development of vocational qualifications and training, ensuring it is informed by key individuals and stakeholders, such as the Horticulture Skills Group, the HTA, Botanic Gardens, Local Authorities, Trellis, Sustainability and Market Garden representatives. Lantra will also work with the Horticulture Skills Group to raise the profile of Horticulture as a career, working on new materials and activities designed to challenge preconceptions and increase the diversity of new entrants. We will also work with delivery partners to ensure a range of flexible learning opportunities are available to a wide audience, particularly in the area of sustainable food production and education.
KEY ACTIVITIES FOR 2022-23
IMAGE BY MOHAMED HASSAN FROM PIXABAY
TREES AND TIMBER Lantra will continue its high profile work with the Forestry Skills Forum, the Scottish Forestry and Timber Technologies Industry Leadership Group, FISA Working groups and others, and will ensure their input to the review of the vocational qualifications relevant to this sector, such as forestry, arboriculture and sawmilling. We will also use resources developed through the Forestry Skills Forum to promote and support recruitment to the sector. Whether through new approaches to advertising, working in partnership with stakeholders to ensure consistency of messaging, or through our own career pages, we will raise the profile of forestry and challenge any associated preconceptions held by its increasingly diverse audience. We will continue our work with the Forestry STEM Ambassadors to raise the profile of the sector and to increase schools engagement activities. We will build on the findings of the "Treehouse" Primary Schools competition and look to deliver a similar opportunity to Secondary schools in 2022. We will also work to take forward the recommendations of the Forestry Learning Mechanism Research, a national research project that aims to find alternative ways to meet the skills gaps within the sector and which has the potential to revolutionise the delivery of training, both at the vocational and higher level. We will do this in partnership with cross border forestry agencies as well as organisations such as the Institute of Chartered Foresters and Confor.
KEY ACTIVITIES FOR 2022-23
IMAGE BY MOHAMED HASSAN FROM PIXABAY
CONSERVATION Lantra will continue its work in partnership with SkillSeeder and Lantra Awards colleagues to ensure the land based sector can access a wide range of training and skills development opportunities in the area of conservation and biodiversity. We will work with UHI, NatureScot, Crichton Carbon Centre and others to help develop the Peatland PreApprenticeship model, which will help to ensure restoration work has the skilled workforce that it requires. We will also work in partnership with SDS to ensure the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan represents the wide range of sustainable and integrated land management practical training solutions and career opportunities that this sector can offer a new entrant. At the same time, we will support the work of our Standards and Framework colleagues in the review and development of vocational qualifications and training, ensuring it is informed by key individuals and stakeholders, such as NatureScot, the National Parks, Biodiversity Action Groups, the Botanic Gardens, and key sustainability and environmental conservation representatives.
KEY ACTIVITIES FOR 2022-23
IMAGE BY GERALT FROM PIXABAY
EFFECTIVE ACTION We will ensure the importance of working sustainably is strongly emphasised throughout our materials and publications, as well as being clearly expressed in how we do our work. We will ensure that Fair Work is at the heart of what we do and what we support, highlighting the importance of working sustainably in all our external partners, including our Skills Groups. This will also be an undercutting theme within our new projects, training initiatives, reviews, research activities and publications. This will include support for a new Peatlands Pre-Apprenticeship and the delivery of the Climate mitigation and adaptation training fund. We will also continue to develop our own practice, upskilling and reskilling to ensure we are best placed to lead on change within our sectors. Whether through supporting apprenticeships, developments in full time college or university provision, short courses or informal skills sharing, Lantra will continue to work to ensure that changes are made where required, excellence supported, and best practice shared. We will increase the profile of our Industry Champions and other ambassadors replicating our best practice and working in partnership with others, such as the Institute of Chartered Foresters' 'Just one School' to increase our reach. We will also work in partnership with the Scottish Schools Education Resource Centre (SSERC) and the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Ambassador hubs to grow the national network of forestry and aquaculture ambassadors, making sure they are accessible to careers influencers, teachers and community groups. Such work will help us to increase the range, scope and impact of our public engagement work and to raise the profile of the diverse range of exiting careers within the land based sector.
KEY ACTIVITIES FOR 2022-23
NEW CAREERS PAGES We will update and extend our virtual presence, launching a new career resource later in 2022. These new online pages will link revised and extended job profiles, with a wider range of training and learning opportunities. We have increased the sectors that we cover (including logistics for the first time) and by linking to relevant short courses, as well as full-time college and university provision at the UK level, this resource will have a wider reach and scope than ever before. A 'one-stop-shop' for anyone looking for a career or training within the sector, as well as serving as a key hub for news and updates on developing projects. Our new online resource will also present clearer and more representative pathways for those interested in a wider range of job roles, with qualification and short course training information linked to each role, as well as signposting to key funding and support organisations.
DELIVERING ON TARGETS
Working SMART(ER)
Lantra is committed to ensuring all our activities deliver best value. We will do this by ensuring our actions and outcomes are: Specific, Measured, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound and perhaps most important of all, that they Encompass Rurality
In recognition of ongoing constraints imposed by the ongoing pandemic, and by increasing the number of projects aligned with our workplan, we aim to keep delivery costs for 2022-23 the same as the previous financial year: Development costs: £515,000 This comprises £402,000 of operational costs and £113,000 of direct costs. However, we remain flexible in our outlook and continue to engage with Scottish Government and the sector, taking on new projects as required, in line with our charitable aims and objectives.
THE SCOTLAND TEAM National Director
Project Co-Ordinator
Liz Barron-Majerik 0.8 FTE
Marketing Co-Ordinator
Annabel Baker 1.0 FTE
Jim Ewing 0.9 FTE
Project Manager
Sustainability Co-Ordinator
Finance & Admin assistant
Emily Dewar 1.0 FTE
Karolina Samerek 1.0 FTE
FBAASS and Events Co-Ordinator
Office Co-Ordinators
Lorna Teague 0.5 FTE
Kelly Kirk 0.4 FTE and Jacky Carstairs 0.6 FTE
Sheena Howden 0.9 FTE
Development Manager Kevin Patrick 0.8 FTE
NATIONAL SUPPORT Lantra benefits from direct support from the National chairs (both for Scotland and UK) at a governance level, and from senior management and specialist colleagues operating UK-wide. Examples include financial management, human resources, information technology, executive team guidance, standards and qualifications expertise, quality and risk management, and partnership working with colleagues in Wales, Northern Ireland and England. Lantra Scotland supports associated operational costs through corporate overhead payments and, where appropriate, by attributing specific staff tasks and time to the Scotland work plan.