Lantra has signed an agreement to work with Britain’s largest trade union, Unite Transport and General Workers’ Union (T&G), to tackle a skills shortage in the rural and agricultural industries.
The sector skills council for the environment and land-based sector, which includes trees and timber, is to provide access to skills programmes and training for the 16,000 rural and agricultural members of Unite T&G, which has its own Forestry Workers’ National Organising Committee and sits on the Arboriculture and Forestry Advisory Group of the Health and Safety Commission Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee.
Young and mature entrants to the sector are to be focused on by Lantra and Unite T&G, with the employment and development of migrant workers and equal rights for all other key parts of the agreement.
Fellow training organisation UKWoodchain has recently had to reiterate its responsibility for training in the sawmilling and primary timber processing industries, after Lantra released a communiqué announcing that it was planning to hand the role to a third skills organisation, SEMTA.
