£500k skills boost for rural businesses

Throughout 2010, LandSkills North East, has helped boost the skills of the regions farmers and foresters by funding over £500,000 worth of training.

Part of the Defra and EU funded Rural Development Programme for England, LandSkills North East  which is managed by Lantra Sector Skills Council on behalf of One North East, has given individuals and businesses access to the skills, training and qualifications they need to remain competitive.

The £1.2m LandSkills North East project was launched in September 2008 and this year alone has:

• Supported 1,526 trainees
• Delivered 6,930 training days
• Commissioned 13 new projects
• Paid out £508,000 to support this training.

This support is invaluable to the region as LandSkills North East Project Manager, Peter Nailon explains: “This year we’ve successfully delivered training that will ensure rural business in the North East remain at the forefront of industry. All the projects offer training that is relevant, flexible and accessible. By subsidising training costs by up to 70% and arranging courses at times and locations convenient for those working in rural locations we have cut through many of the barriers associated with rural training. Funding is still available up until March 2011 so there are still many opportunities available at all levels.”

In 2010, LandSkills North East funded a diverse range of courses from forestry skills and woodland management to business development and from animal health to information technology. LandSkills also funded training courses that provide qualifications to comply with current legislation, for example, courses with agricultural trainer Vicky Anderson, are currently available in dry stone walling, sit on ATV, manual handling, forklift driving,  artificial insemination, rabbit and mole control, cattle foot trimming, nutrient management, IT for business and integrated crop management.

“In addition, an important part of the overall project is designing training to meet specific needs,” says Peter: “We’re currently working with several organisations across the region to develop bespoke training programmes for existing individual farmers and foresters who wish to extend both their business and technical skills. It is envisaged that these specially created programmes will run from between three months and two years according to requirements.”

In 2010 LandSkills North East supported a number of successful projects including:

• Establishing Monitor Farms in Northumberland and County Durham to act as examples of best practice farming and provide training and advice on livestock and crop management
• A Working Week in the Forest which gave people a taste of what working in the forestry industry would be like from tree felling to the manufacturing of end-products
• Introducing an IT training programme for farmers in the Durham Dales in partnership with UTASS.  The scheme will allow farmers to complete required paperwork on line and communicate more effectively with their customers
• * Providing training for working farms who have diversified into tourism. In partnership with Farm Stay UK, participants will learn to add value to their businesses from improving their websites and offering on-line booking to enhancing their customer care and house keeping.

Adrian Sherwood, RDPE Manager at One North East added: “Developing agricultural and forestry skills are essential to continue improving and growing the region’s agricultural and forestry sectors.  Landskills North East, through support from RDPE has enabled farming and forestry businesses to become more competitive and is also continuing to help those businesses accessing training, better respond to future challenges and opportunities.”

For more information please visit www.lantra.co.uk/LandSkills-NE or contact the LandSkills North East team on 0845 2788800.

Editor’s notes

• The Rural Development Programme is jointly funded by the EU, through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, and the Government.  In England, the programme will also make use of Voluntary Modulation.  The RDPE 2007-2013 has a budget of £3.9 billion.  This is more than double the budget available for the previous programme which ran from 2000-2006. £3.3 billion of the total budget will be allocated to agri-environment and other land management schemes.  This funding will help farmers to manage the land more sustainably and deliver important outcomes on biodiversity, landscape and access, water quality and climate change. Some £600 million will be made available to make agriculture and forestry more competitive and sustainable and to enhance opportunities in rural areas.
• LandSkills North East, managed by Lantra Sector Skills Council on behalf of the Regional Development Agency, One North East, is part of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) which is funded by Defra and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
• Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for the environmental and land-based industries, is licensed by the UK government to drive forward the new skills, training and business development agenda for the sector.
• Lantra represents 17 industries and 1.5 million workers and volunteers in agricultural crops, agricultural livestock, animal care, animal technology, aquaculture, environmental conservation, equine, farriery, fencing, fisheries management, floristry, game and wildlife management, land-based engineering, landscaping, production horticulture, trees and timber and veterinary nursing. For more information see www.lantra.co.uk