An Industry Advisory Board has been set up to drive forward a new programme which will help target funding for skills and knowledge transfer to land-based businesses across Yorkshire and Humber region.
The LandSkills Advisory Board, made up of representatives from the agricultural crops and livestock, veterinary, production horticulture and forestry industries, met for the first time in March to discuss how they can work together to steer the programme, commission activity and champion it within their industry sectors.
LandSkills, managed by Lantra as part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Land-based Skills funding, aims to bring a new focus on skills and knowledge transfer for farming, forestry and production horticulture businesses in the region.
Programme manager, Helen Spooner, said: “The Board is made up of passionate and motivated employers who want to make a real difference. Because each member is an expert in their own field and because they work within the industry they understand what skills development would help their industry sectors be more competitive.”
Member of the board and pig and arable farmer, Richard Longthorp, said: ‘’LandSkills offers the chance to design integrated programmes rather than just looking at single issues. We need to avoid the chainsaw mentality of one-off events, conferences, and courses and deliver long lasting and sustainable business benefits through integrated solutions.’’
The main focus of the first meeting was to get to know each other, agree their role and to set priorities for action. The next task for the board is to think about the programmes priorities and will meet up to discuss the next steps in April.
