TASK Training Academy set up to tackle the landscaping Industry skills shortage
According to the Royal Horticultural Society, the horticulture industry is the largest employer in the UK, supplying 18 million gardeners. A recent landscaping sector forecast states that industry has grown by 18%, in just over 8 years, contributing to a staggering £1 billion to the UK economy.
Research Shows A Lack of Skills
Looking at the 2019 Horticulture Sector Skills Survey (RHS and Pye Tait Consulting), the key findings clearly support the requirement for more trained staff within the horticulture industry and therefore a need for a midlands-based training venue:
Skills and labour issues are of key concern for the entire sector in the near to medium term. There are significant gaps and shortages (in skills) which were highlighted through the survey and workshops and which need to be addressed for both the sector as a whole and for specific sub-sectors.
All skill sets which were queried in the survey are perceived by employers as increasing in importance over the next 3-5 years. Of particular focus are soft skills, environmental awareness, health and safety, biosecurity, landscape design, use of specialist machinery, equipment, planting and plant care.
The relatively low average number of apprentices in the sector and the cited perception of the low quality of apprentices in terms of skills indicate that talent pipelines into the sector needs to be improved.
The most common reason for the cause of workers not having the right or sufficient skills in the sector was that external training is perceived to be not available locally or too time-consuming (too busy to release staff) and the cost of training – these were cited as the top factors causing skills gaps in the workforce.
In a Report by Stephen Ensell, BALI, Spring 2021*, the research over the last few years from landscape companies is showing a worrying trend that employers are finding it increasingly difficult to source relevant external landscape and horticulture training opportunities for themselves and their employees.
A sector of the economy with great potential
This rapidly growing area of the economy is attributed to a growing public interest in gardening, plants and sustainability. Many UK homeowners are taking this opportunity to transform their outdoor living spaces, fuelling a rise in the need for more professional landscapers.
The pandemic has accentuated the skills gap
As we emerged from the pandemic* (BALI Spring 2021), the horticulture and landscaping industry remained very busy and in high demand. Green spaces both private and public have become more important than ever with the pandemic having highlighted just how vital they are to our health and wellbeing.
Despite all of this evidence and growth in the industry, there is a lack of training facilities and courses available to landscaping and land-based professionals, from which to build their skills and knowledge. It also highlights the need to encourage more people to explore a career in landscaping and other land-based industries, and support entry-level professionals.
TASK steps up to the challenge
All of this vital research supports the urgent need for training companies like TASK – a Training Academy for Landscaping and Landbased Skills. TASK Founder & MD Rupert Keys has worked in the horticultural industry within Worcestershire for 30 years. Rupert brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his new training venture and is highly committed to addressing the skills gap in the industry he has always worked in.
Rupert says “Our vision is to improve the skills of current and future generations – each course has been designed and created by industry experts to ensure our students get the best learning experience”
TASK Launched their own Training Survey in the Autumn of 2021, carrying out research with landscaping and gardening companies to identify their training needs and to continue to develop and design the TASK course curriculum. It was a small sample but validated Rupert’s hunch about what is desperately needed in the sector.
The most popular courses participants would consider attending were; General Landscaping and Courses for Garden Designers.
There was also strong interest in sustainable approaches such as Drainage and Eco Buildings.
Businesses made it clear that they would be more likely to take on apprentices if they know there are accessible courses that will enable them to improve their skills .
*British Association of Landscape Industries, (Landscape News Spring 2021)