Members encouraged to take part in sector skills survey

A survey to investigate the future skills needs within UK ornamental horticulture is being carried out to provide insight about the potential training and resource gaps for the £24.2bn sector and the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) needs your help.

Results from the survey will help equip the sector with knowledge to inform a skills strategy, tailored to the industry and to help provide data to support funding and resource decisions. According to a recent report by Oxford Economics, the UK ornamental sector supported 568,700 jobs in 2017, amounting to 1.6% of total UK employment with the landscape services industry generating almost half, £11.6bn, of that figure.

An Ornamental Horticulture Sector stakeholder group, which BALI plays a key part of, is seeking 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, who has been commissioned by the group to carry out the research, will be making contact with 1,000 businesses across the UK between now and June, including members of BALI. The survey will build on an initial pilot project carried out in 2018. The 2019 survey will seek the views of those working in and across the ornamental horticulture sub-sectors, including landscape design and maintenance services.

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. In addition, interviews and dedicated workshops for business stakeholders are planned for May and June to further inform the research.

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 insight about the demand for, and gaps within, training in the horticulture sector.
 
How can you help?
 
The skills survey is being conducted via phone by Pye Tait Consulting between late April and June. If you would like further information or wish to participate please contact Michael Oberreuter on +44(0)1423 509433 or via email. Alternatively, you can take part online by visiting this website. If you would like to speak to a member of the BALI team at Landscape House, call +44(0)24 7669 0333 or contact us via email.