Government funds more agricultural training for adults

An additional 15 agricultural courses are being offered free to adults in England as part of a new government initiative.

Funding is available for 16,000 places across almost 400 courses for adults to retrain as part of the national skills fund.

The intention of the scheme is to both retrain and improve adult skills and to reduce labour shortages in key industries, including agriculture.

See also: How to find, keep and manage good farm staff

The agricultural courses being offered are level-three qualifications and include diplomas in agriculture, countryside management and land-based engineering.

Skills Bootcamps are also due to launch is some regions, which are free 16-week courses for adults and cover a variety of areas including agri-tech.

The announcements were made as part of prime minister Boris Johnson’s “levelling up” speech on 15 July.

The free level-three qualifications are available to those under 19, or those 19 and over who do not already have a level-three qualification or equivalent.

More information on how to apply and access these courses can be found on the government website.

There is also a list of colleges offering the free courses.