Commission for the land-based learning review: report to Scottish Ministers

1. Introduction

Scotland’s land and waters are a valuable natural and economic asset, and for them to be maintained as such for future generations, we need the right people, with the right skills, to manage their use. In alignment with the Skills Action Plan for Rural Scotland and the work undertaken by the Skills for Farming Group and other Sector initiatives, the need to review the learner’s journey, across the Sector was considered timely. This was particularly relevant following EU Exit, Covid-19 and the challenging recruitment conditions facing the different industries covered by this report.

Scotland has a wide variety of nature, landscapes and microclimates, and there are an equally broad range of demands of those natural resources from food and timber production to the provision of ecosystem services such as flood protection, climate change mitigation and adaptation, pollination and opportunities for recreation. The knowledge and skills requirements for those who work in this area or are hence no less diverse, and yet it is a sector that is widely misunderstood. Despite their critical role in meeting climate change targets and the complexity of the task ahead, its often seen as ‘simple’ work, which could be done by anyone.

This is of course not the case, but it’s a misconception that must change if we are to meet Scottish Government’s net zero and nature restoration commitments^[3], whilst simultaneously supporting our rural economy and improving food security. We need enough people, with the right skills, knowledge and passion to undertake the work required.

Careers in the sector are diverse in nature and many roles now combine knowledge and understanding of science, data and engineering with an understanding and passion for the natural world and how it works. Roles often require individuals to work with animals, engage with the public, carry out nature restoration and help to protect our land and environment. At the same time, the sector depends on staff understanding key business principles and an extensive range of ever-changing legislation. This is particularly important for the large number of micro businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and contractors that operate in the environment and land-based sector.

Despite a wide range of attempted interventions, the perception of roles within the Sector is that they are hard, unrewarding, and poorly recompensed. This despite increasing interest in climate change and nature conservation. Although the workforce remains dominated by white, older men, increasingly it is beginning to attract new entrants, younger people, more women and more people from minority ethnic backgrounds, though there is still much further to go.

The value of natural environments for developing children and young people’s social skills, improving wellbeing and supporting better learning outcomes, is both established and accepted. Connecting children and young people with nature has been shown to improve physical and mental health and support learning, yet the proportion of time spent by pupils playing and learning outside of the classroom is unknown and unmeasured. Access to green space is unequal and we must do more to ensure that all children have opportunities to access and build connections with nature. If they are inspired by and connected with the natural world, they are more likely to understand the need to work to protect it.

We then need to build on that engagement by ensuring there are pathways that link to and prepare them for actual jobs as well as those we think might exist in the future. Equally, we need to ensure support for career changers and mature entrants, who might not have had the same level of exposure to the natural environment but are now keen to work in this area.

Scotland’s land and waters have an essential role to play both in contributing to Scotland’s net zero targets, and food security. The sector is hence well positioned to both become part of the narrative of ‘saving the planet’ as well as providing a huge range of career opportunities. Although the land use sector in Scotland has a set of challenging greenhouse gas emission reduction targets to meet, it is potentially able to offset its own emissions and could also offset emissions from other sectors of the economy that cannot currently be eliminated.

More than ever before, we need our young people, educators, career influencers and career changers to help us to find the solutions we need for a fair transition to a green economy, by choosing a career within the nature-based sector.

It is our duty, and the role of this Commission, to help ensure the path ahead of them is clear, well signposted and free of any unnecessary barriers. It is with this goal in mind that we submit our report and associated recommendations.

1.1 Commission for the Land-based Learning Review - context

The Commission for the Land-based Learning Review (the Commission) was a short-term advisory group established to provide independent, evidence-based advice to Scottish Ministers. Members were drawn from a wide variety of industry sectors and organisations (see Appendix 1) to reflect their own range of industry experience and expertise and not the views of any one organisation.

The Commission was asked to undertake a review of learning in the Sector from early years to adulthood. This would support the Scottish Government’s ambitions of delivering a just transition to net-zero, by ensuring our learning system equips people with the skills and knowledge needed to work in the Sector.

The review considered learner opportunities and qualifications through early years provision, school, college, university and work-based learning, including apprenticeships, which promote engagement with the different industries and support more people of all ages and backgrounds to enter and maintain land-based employment.

The Commission’s report identifies interventions which need to be applied across the learning pathways to inform, promote and enable individuals to take up the available career opportunities, with a view to encouraging more people and specifically women into the Sector.

It is recognised that this is a time of great change. As a result, the report will inform and be informed by several education, skills and sector reviews, as outlined in Appendix 2. Scotland’s overarching 10-year National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) sets out the priorities for Scotland’s economy as well as the actions needed towards achieving Scotland’s vision of a net zero, nature positive, wellbeing economy with fair work at its heart. The recommendations of this report align with those of NSET and its objective for a skills and education system, and which supports the Scottish Government mission on child poverty. Additionally, the ‘Skills Delivery Landscape; Independent Review’ (due to conclude in Spring 2023) charged with ensuring the public body landscape for skills remains fit to meet the challenges and opportunities for the future, is pertinent to the scope of the Commission’s work.

1.2 Scope

For the purposes of this review the Sector includes the following activities: agriculture, aquaculture, biodiversity, environmental conservation, equine, forestry, trees and timber, food and drink processing, game and wildlife, horticulture, land-based engineering and peatland restoration.

Many already have associated industry analyses from which learning has been drawn and which will not be repeated within this report. Instead, the Commission has focused on the common themes and challenges across the Sector.

The scope of the review did not include:

• Nature-based tourism, outdoor recreation or renewables (wind, hydro, solar).

1.3 Learning levels

For the purposes of the review the learning levels included early learning and childcare, primary and secondary, further and higher education and continuing lifelong professional development.

1.4 Cross-cutting themes

The work of the review is underpinned by the cross-cutting themes of:

• Equality and inclusion
• Fair work
• Delivering a just transition to a net-zero and a climate resilient Scotland