UK work visas needed to help fill farming skills shortages
October 26 2009 by Liam Clifford
The UK farming secor is seeing a deficit for certain jobs in the industry.
There
is a growing concern in the farming industry that skills shortages may hinder
the UK’s ability to produce enough food, with some 60,000 new employees needed
over the coming ten years. More people entering on a UK work visa could be an answer.
An ageing workforce is the main problem facing
the farming and food production industries. The sector is seen as unattractive
by British workers and, as a result, many of the vacancies may need to be filled
by people from abroad who want to move to the UK and work with a UK visa.
The sector skills
council Lantra presented their finding to MPs last week. They found that 41 per
cent of the people working in agriculture are over 50. The average age of a
farmer is 55 and half do not have a successor to run their farms after they
retire.
In the agricultural industry, 31 per cent of vacancies are hard
to fill due to skills shortages, which compares with an average of 21 per cent
in other industry sectors.
Although there are calls for measures to help
the industry recruit from the UK, immigrants and UK work visas are likely to play a part in
helping the UK's agricultural industry to grow the food needed to feed the UK’s
growing population.
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