Future skills for Rural Businesses

This project will scope, plan and prioritise the future rural skills, training and business support needs and will strategically tackle the conundrum of shortages in high and low skills and in careers pipelines.

It will be a comprehensive skills evaluation to formulate recommendations for targeting future skills delivery across the SELEP geography setting out priorities for the main rural sectors below and will strategically tackle the conundrum of shortages in high and low skills and in careers pipelines:

• Agriculture
• Food and drink -production and manufacture
• Horticulture production – vegetable crops, fruit and viticulture

For each covering the four key themes:

• Level 3+ technical skills
• Business improvement techniques and business support, including knowledge transfer
• Skills pipeline and facilitation for new

This project will strategically tackle the conundrum of shortages in high and low skills and in careers pipelines.

Recommendations will focus on partnership working leading to the development of plans to raise productivity, growth and opportunities in rural areas. New innovations require new ideas and talent and supportive business networks.

Primary delivery locations

• Plumpton College, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 3AE
• Hadlow College, Hadlow, Tonbridge, Kent, TN11 0AL
• Writtle University College, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3RR
• East Malling Research, New Road, East Malling, Kent, ME19 6BJ

All of the components of this work will enhance and improve efficiency of the specific rural businesses. It will improve food production and ensure better use of the resources and efficient use non-renewables.

This will lead to more production hence increased focus on food processing technology. With Brexit looming, pressures on supply chains (eg Sainsbury’s merging with Asda), adverse weather and high input (energy) prices it is vital that land based businesses raise their productivity.

This Project is complete and has published a full report. For ease the report has been broken down into the relevant chapters, these can be viewed below

Sector Support Fund

The Sector Support Fund (SSF) is a £500,000 per year pot to support one-off, discrete pieces of work of a pan-LEP nature with a sector focus that brings demonstrable benefit and has support across the LEP.

It uses Growing Places Fund (GPF) Revenue grant to fund a programme of works to support the sector focussed activities that are being undertaken on a pan-LEP basis and predominantly led by the SELEP working groups. When the Growing Places Fund (GPF) grant was originally awarded, a proportion of the fund was earmarked as revenue which is being used for the Sector Support Fund.