Government ‘needs strategic approach to farm labour’
© Adobe Stock The Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) committee this week held its second evidence session in an inquiry into education and careers in land-based sectors.
The sessions are aimed at informing government of the current challenges with recruiting the future agricultural workforce, and bringing to light the labour shortage and skills gap many employers face within the agricultural industries.
On Tuesday 5 March, the committee, hosted by Harper Adams University (HAU), heard from a panel of industry experts, including Ken Sloan, HAU vice-chancellor, Nina Prichard, head of sustainable and ethical sourcing at McDonald’s, Martin Emmett, director at Tristram Plants, and Jeremy Gibbs, founder of Forces Farming.
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Asked to what extent the government is taking a strategic approach to meeting labour needs and filling the skills gap in the land based sector, Prof Sloan said the vital “ingredients” exist, but they need to come together.
“I think, ultimately, the biggest thing we have to do is encourage more people to see these careers as things that they want to do and aspire to.
“That takes an end-to-end look at the way in which we position food and how food is produced in all aspects of education.
“Too often food is a byproduct of education as opposed to an integral part of how we teach.”
Opportunities
Prof Sloan went on to explain that a truly strategic approach would take the opportunities where young people and adults are exposed to food, and understand how to position this as a part of their education.
“This pillar of education should not just be reserved for specialist subjects such as agriculture,” he explained. Instead, it should inform subjects such as the sciences, economics and business.
“I think the country needs to see food and food security as a national priority in the same way that it looks at the emergency services and health service, and it should take that integrated approach.”