Recruiting and Retaining High-Calibre Young People into the Farming Workforce of the Future Tim...
-
Upload
clara-baldwin -
Category
Documents
-
view
214 -
download
0
Transcript of Recruiting and Retaining High-Calibre Young People into the Farming Workforce of the Future Tim...
Recruiting and Retaining High-Calibre Young People into the Farming Workforce
of the Future
Tim Jackson, Principal, Sparsholt College
Agriculture/Food; Attractive Features• Beautiful rural landscape context• Varied and seasonal pattern to working life
• Exciting technical dimensions to business
• Significant investment in machinery and equipment
• Long-term employment prospects – ‘food will never go out of fashion’
Negative Perceptions• Low pay; ‘perception more than reality’• Poor working conditions• Lack of intellectual demand (oh arr)• Lack of structured career development within the employment
• Reluctance of employers to co-invest in employee training
A Central Southern England Response
• Sparsholt College + NFU• NFU personal invitations to some
leading Businesses• Pow-wow• Endorsed ‘negative perceptions’• Considered Apprenticeship
Academy as one potential response
Vision• A formal working partnership of leading agri-food businesses with Sparsholt College designed to attract, recruit and retain a cohort of high calibre young new entrants to a highly skilled and appropriately remunerated workforce for the Agri-Food Sector in Central Southern England.
Probable use of an ATA model• ATA = Government-backed employing
entity• ATA employs and recharges costs
+15%• Apprentices join Academy cohort &
could be moved between positions• Businesses ‘take-a-stake’ in this group
of new entrants• Pay starts low – but possibilities =
enticing…
Operating model (formative)
• Recruit from 15-year-olds• Focus on high-calibre performers• Promote good long-term sustainable careers with Level III Apprenticeship & part-time routes to HND/HNC/Foundation Degree
• Up to 2 years F/T at College (++)• Up to 20 months on Level III Apprenticeship
Steering Group
• Vital to success• Leading businesses• Promote the profile of the Academy to encourage
forward-looking employers to join• To oversee the content and quality of the offer of the
Academy
Steering Group
To communicate with the Agric Skills Forum established by Richard Longthorp, in seeking to influence policy towards Apprenticeships.
Richard Longthorp OBE on his farm