As labour shortages persist across the growing industry, it is becoming increasingly crucial to train a new generation of digitally skilled students and workers. Employers highlight this is critical to their businesses’ successful futures as they make a plea for higher skilled workers to fill the extensive skills gaps which currently exist.
Brinsbury and Plumpton Colleges are working together with our commercial growers to secure the long-term success of commercial horticulture for future generations. A curriculum developed with the input and support of commercial growers will ensure students are better equipped for the workplace.
The West Sussex Growers Association (WSGA) has recently worked with Brinsbury College to facilitate a talk to 45 of Brinsbury’s students and lecturers about commercial horticulture and the diverse careers available within the sector. Following this, the students were invited to The Greenhouse Sussex and Wicks Farm for a tour of their glasshouses whilst receiving educational insights into their operations, including how to maximise yield and quality, and how to protect the plants from pests and diseases. Rachael Williams at WSGA says ‘visits such as these are planned to become a regular feature, for example, in February the students have been welcomed back to collect young tomato plants to grow within their college setting.’
Alex Waterfield, Grounds and Gardens Manager, says Plumpton College is keen to ‘ensure the courses it delivers, meets the needs of the employers, ensuring learners moving into future roles are equipped with knowledge and experience of the latest skills and technology.’ Plumpton College recently hosted it’s first ‘Village Day’, encouraging members of the public, including local primary school children, to visit their site to engage in activities within each course sector. The children were also given wildflowers to plant at their school as part of the local nature recovery programme, ‘ReNature Plumpton’, encouraging them to take an interest in horticulture from a young age.
By continuing to work together and put education at the heart of Growing Sussex, we ensure that the next generation of workers are equipped with the skills and technology needed to keep the industry thriving for decades to come.
For more information on WSGA and Brinsbury College please visit: WSGA – Brinsbury College Engagement
GROWING SUSSEX
Led by West Sussex County Council and funded by DSIT, Growing Sussex is an exciting project to advance digital technology and data-driven decision making in food, wine and plant production.
