COMMON CHALLENGES UNITE ENGLAND’S INDUSTRY LEADERS

At last week’s inaugural meeting of Lantra’s National Council for England, prominent industry leaders on the new Council united behind the need to work together to meet the challenges facing the environmental and land-based sector.

With representatives from ten of the sector’s industries including Simon Johnston, from the RSPCA, Landex and Unite the Union, the strong employer-led group met at Lantra’s head office at Stoneleigh on 12 April to begin shaping the future work of the sector skills council to influence policy and skills development. Top of the agenda were issues affecting all industries, including continuous professional development, recruitment, retention, career progression and ensuring the sector attracts adequate funding for training and development. RSPCA Skills Development Manager, Simon Johnston, said: “The meeting provided the Council with an illuminating overview of the work that Lantra does and how engagement by industry is key to ensuring Lantra is effective and seen to be of value to the industry. As a representative of the RSPCA, I can see that Lantra's aims for improving standards of training in the industry are exactly the same as the RSPCA's and I would urge industry to get involved with Lantra’s work, as only by working together can we make a real difference.” Council Chair and Yorkshire farmer Richard Longthorp, added: “This first meeting provided an excellent platform for the Council to prioritise the needs of the environmental and land-based sector and identify key areas for action. The members bring a wealth of experience and knowledge from their various fields so it won’t be long before the Council starts to make a real difference that helps the sector thrive.” Working together with Lantra’s National Director, Madge Moore, the next step for the Council will be to ensure industry requirements are incorporated into the Lantra business plan for 2011 so the work of Lantra is entirely employer driven. Madge Moore commented: “The new Council will certainly challenge where Lantra focuses its future work in England. Equally the group will support Lantra by getting greater industry involvement in our work so as a Sector Skills Council we make a real difference to the skills agenda for the benefit of our industries.” To find out more about Lantra in England visit www.lantra.co.uk/England. ENDS Issued by: Lantra Press Office – contact england.media@lantra.co.uk or telephone 02476 858 417. NOTES TO EDITOR: • Photos and biographies of the Council members are available at: www.lantra.co.uk/businesses/england/englandcouncil/ • Members of the National Council for England are: • Richard Longthorp, LKL Farming • Prof Ron Jones, University of Liverpool and Farriers Registration Council • David Golding, GreenKeepers Training Committee • Paul Curtis, Prospect • Niels Olesen, Fyfield Estates Limited • Meredydd David, Landex Colleges • Simon Johnston, RSPCA • Charles Clutterbuck, Unite the Union • David Linton, Fylde Fresh and Fabulous • Roger Lane-Nott, Agricultural Engineers Association • Jacqui Molyneux, Prince Bishop Veterinary Hospital • Matthew Dobbs, BVM&S, Cert CHP, MRCVS, Westpoint Veterinary Group • Brian Hutton, The Talland School of Equitation • Paul-Anthony Campbell, Design for London / Urban Designed. • With its UK-wide remit, Lantra has developed four National Councils in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, which will take responsibility for devising, approving and monitoring its operational plans which contribute to the delivery of the Sector Skills Council’s UK objectives. • In conjunction with Lantra’s National Councils, 17 industry groups will continue to play an important part in Lantra’s work. They will help to develop, implement and monitor industry specific work. • Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for environmental and land-based industries, represents the interests of approximately 166,200 businesses in England which employ around 858,330 employees. Across the whole of the UK, there are 217.000 businesses in the sector which employ 1.1 million people (3.7% of the UK’s workforce). • Lantra is an employer-led organisation, which is licensed by the UK Government to drive forward the skills, training and business development agenda for the 17 industries in the sector. The industries represented are: agricultural crops; agricultural livestock; animal care; animal technology; aquaculture; environmental conservation; equine; farriery; fencing; fisheries management; floristry; game and wildlife management; horticulture, landscaping and sports turf; land-based engineering; production horticulture; trees and timber; and veterinary nursing.

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