Need to invest more in young people

In a recent industry seminar organised by Lantra Scotland, the sector skills council for the land-based, environment and aquaculture sectors, major employers from across the food & drink, land and aquaculture sectors all agreed that investing more in Scotland’s young people was key to addressing industry wide skills shortages.  

In 2013, Lantra published a research report which indicated a rise in employer demand for technical and commercial skills, as Scotland’s land-based and aquaculture industries seeks an estimated 30,000 new entrants by 2020. The report summarised some of the environmental, social and political drivers which are bringing about an unprecedented need for labour, including demographic changes and the need for food security, influenced by climate change and a rapidly rising world population.

The seminar, chaired by Brian Pack O.B.E, took place shortly before the Land-based and Aquaculture Learner of the Year Awards 2013, and brought together a panel of seven industry speakers to share their views on how an industry, losing skilled labour and management to retirement and attrition, can find the workforce of the future. 

All the speakers unanimously agreed that investing in young people was critically important to building a highly skilled, effective workforce to drive the sector forward. The panel discussed the need for the industry to be more proactive when highlighting career opportunities and vocational routes into work among young people and their mentors, as well as providing more opportunities for ‘entry-level’ work experience from employers.