On behalf of the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group (OHRT), a stakeholder group, consisting of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), the Arboriculture Association (AA), the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI), the Chartered Institute of Horticulture (CIOH), the Land Based Colleges Aspiring to Excellence (LANDEX) and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), seeks to investigate the future skills needs of the Ornamental Horticulture sector, in terms of key skills, and the requirements and challenges facing the sector in the future (including scenarios and implications for future workforce change).
Pye Tait Consulting has been commissioned by the group to carry out a research project involving a survey of 1,000 businesses across the UK and follow up activity. The survey will build on an initial pilot project carried out by Pye Tait Consulting in 2018. The 2019 survey will seek the views of those working in and across the ornamental horticulture sub-sectors such as ornamental plant production; landscape design and maintenance services, arboriculture, garden retail and garden tourism which includes historic landscapes and sites, private estates and botanical gardens, among others.
It will be conducted by telephone, giving businesses the opportunity to provide their view on skills developments in the foreseeable future, their workforce needs, the impact of automation, training needs and requirements, and other topics to inform a skills strategy tailored to the sector. The telephone survey will run from late April 2019 until late June 2019. In addition, interviews and dedicated workshops for business stakeholders are planned for May and June to further inform the research.
- The results from the survey will help equip the sector in making the case for lobbying government, requests for funding, informing migratory advisory committee consultations and providing insight about the demand for, and gaps within, training in the horticulture sector.
Your input is therefore of great value for the success of this project which will benefit the entire sector and its future prosperity.
If you would like further information or wish to participate please contact: Michael Oberreuter at Pye Tait Consulting on 01423 509433 or via m.oberreuter@pyetait.com
The co-funders of this research are: