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

5. The land-based curriculum

This section outlines the current availability of training programmes specific to the Sector which are predominantly delivered through colleges and HEIs.

5.1 Career and learning pathways

There can be no doubt from stakeholder feedback and the large range of sector specific awards available, that the land-based learning landscape is complex. SQA recognise that many of the very subject specific niche awards were developed to meet a learning provider demand or industry needs. SQA data (see Appendix 7) identifies 121 awards from SCQF level 4-8 which are available across the Sector. This is unrivalled in other industry sectors and reflects the very diverse range of employment opportunities available. The range of awards has allowed progression opportunities within most sectors pathways from SCQF level 4 SfW at school to HEIs, SCQF level 10-degree awards and above.

The difference between a work-based learning route and the more traditional College/HEI full time route, is not well understood by many. The routes are funded differently, promoted differently, supported differently and too often seen as less academic versus more academic routes. Parity of esteem was a commonly expressed concern identified at stakeholder meetings. The focus should be on the most appropriate career pathway which supports the individual and develops an able, well-trained workforce, who have a range of appropriate ‘skills’ in order to meet current and future employer needs.

5.2 Award currency and development

Some excellent examples of new courses were shared with the Commission, including the HN (Higher National) NextGen development pilots within Horticulture, Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, each providing a refreshing restructure of awards which seek to address identified industry needs. These awards now include practical skills, key knowledge and understanding and the development of meta-skills, in line with industry expectations. The developments are often ‘Centre lead’ with SRUC or UHI, undertaking most of the development work and bearing the associated cost.

Other examples of partnership working across learning providers and industry include the new Technical Apprenticeship in Rural land Use and Management, delivery of the pilot pre-apprenticeships with the Scottish machinery rings and closer industry collaborations to support training and provision of specialist resources (for example Forestry & Agriculture equipment). Regional SFC ‘Pathfinder’ proposals, shared with the Commission, hope to identify shared institutional development opportunities identified across the education and skills pathways from school, through to tertiary education, and employment across one Region.

New courses have more recently been developed in partnership to meet specific Sector requirements such as the new HND Rural Animal health, HN NextGen Agricultural Technology, Peatland Restoration, a revised HNC Poultry Production, NPAs in Investigating Modern Agriculture and Horticulture. Future Technical and Graduate apprenticeships within other land-based industries are gaining some traction for example Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture but progress is slow and it is often unclear what determines agreement to proceed.

Unfortunately, while some new courses are reacting to a demand, some may be meeting a more restricted need (for example NPA Horticulture-Schools focus) and can be splitting the limited current demand for other awards (for example SfW Rural Skills Horticulture route).

Many of the awards from SCQF level 4- 8 are now viewed as out of date by industry and learning providers, with often low uptake. Many degrees at SCQF level 9-10 have also been viewed as not meeting industry requirements and lacking many basic work ready skills. SQA has currently limited capacity to update and re-fresh the full suite of awards.

The development of new awards places considerable demand on the associated accreditation bodies. The timeline to develop new awards and achieve appropriate awarding body accreditation can vary from 3 months to over 2 years. The need to adhere to the ‘long established’ measures of rigour are an institutional norm across most awarding bodies. A review of timelines may be required, if education providers are to meet the SFC desire to be ‘agile, adaptive and responsive’ and meet the changing Sector skills and training needs.

“For our outcome agreements (as education providers) we need a very clear push on aligning our provision with what employers (and whole of Scotland) needs.”

Recommendation

• Ensure that accreditation bodies (at all curriculum levels) have sufficient capacity to respond timeously to review existing awards and develop new awards, guaranteeing the skills and knowledge requirements of the Sector are met.

5.3 Driving curricular change

Some new awards are being developed under ‘Green Jobs’ and in the application of new technologies within Sector. These appear to be largely driven by industry interest/demand, Education provider Sector insight and strategic planning. Innovative new course development does require effective collaboration with all stakeholders and an acceptable element of risk. No matter how well developed a new course is to meet an identified or perceived industry need such as Peatland Restoration, they must be matched with a sustainable learner uptake after any initial pilot phase.

The current Scottish Funding Council (SFC) funding model for public Education providers, does focus on learner demand and perhaps less on the direction to support industry specific skills shortages (at all SCQF levels from skills based up to management).

There is now a need to re-focus some funding resources to support priority skills shortages within nature-based and other sectors. Education providers must balance high learner demand courses with those which have a lower demand, higher resource/delivery costs but meet industry sector needs, such as the National Certificate (NC) in Agriculture or Certificates in Forestry. The different nature-based industries all require qualifications which may take a practical skills-based approach (college or work based) and awards which develop greater application of knowledge and understanding.

The variability of annual funding initiatives to support: Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), Local Employability Partnerships, ‘No One Left Behind’ employability support and the Learner Guarantee programmes, is a planning and development challenge, raised during stakeholder feedback.

There is a need to ensure funding is flexible enough to support continuing provision where there is fluctuating uptake. The funding landscape for skills is complicated and there is a need for the Sector to engage with the skills delivery landscape independent review to ensure that the complex needs of the Sector are understood and addressed.

Stakeholder feedback indicated some lack of clarity amongst agencies who initiate, develop, accredit and promote some awards. The proposed changes to the modern apprenticeship frameworks, referred to by some interviewed and others as the New Model Apprenticeship (NMA), is quoted as an example of this. Although it is clear that the aim of such changes to approach, are to reduce duplication and develop awards which meet industry and learner needs. There is a need to ensure agencies work together and align strategies, while communicating these developments effectively to all stakeholders, for this aim to be met.

Delivery approaches post Covid-19 are now more flexible and the introduction of more online learning is generally welcomed by more remote candidates undertaking HE courses. Evidence suggests there is less enthusiasm and often more limited engagement from learners undertaking what are more predominantly practically based NC and work-based MA programmes. Anecdotal evidence indicates that blended learning approaches undoubtedly benefit more remote learners who are part time, with a limited need to undertake practical skills development, are motivated and often adult returners.

Access to land-based learning opportunities can be increased by the use of online blended learning approaches but it is not a panacea for all, particularly where industry requires greater development of practical skills. The development of sound practical skills is essential across many of the land-based job roles. UHI has demonstrated how online delivery and practical skill can be integrated within Horticulture, using partner practical sites and only limited practical assessment attendance at a college site but it is not straightforward to establish.

Education providers are adapting their delivery materials and assessment approaches to support a wider geographical access. The need to avoid duplication of effort in the development of high-quality online materials remains. A more centralised and shared development approach would benefit all.

The Sector curricular offering needs to be updated, with the modernisation of content, more flexible delivery models and a reduction in the overall assessment burden on learners.

“It’s not a curriculum issue, it’s getting people engaged with the career pathway”, “We need a career led and not a course led approach”

“Closer collaboration between education providers and employers at local and regional levels”

Recommendations

• Ensure funding to support core and innovative nature-based education and training programmes, to ensure sustainable provision to allow for fluctuating uptake.
• Contribute to the Skills delivery landscape independent review, ensuring that the complex needs of the sector are understood and addressed.

5.4 Land-based tertiary provision and uptake

The following tables provide an indication of Sector enrolments, gender balance and ethnicity across the wide range of land-based courses, available within the Sector. The data is based on HECoS subject course codes used for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and SFC, Superclass codes used for Colleges (See Appendix 8). A wide interpretation of land-based subjects has been used to ensure no provision is missed which may support learning pathways into the Sector (for example Veterinary Sciences, Food Sciences and the Earth Sciences). SRUC and UHI as the largest providers of land-based education are both HEIs, with their HE course provision within the HEI data and their FE provision within the SFC College data. Details of individual Education provider courses are not explored within these data sets.

Table 7 shows the uptake of HE programme areas which broadly cover the land-based sectors and related areas for comparison. The degree provision is dominated by Environmental and Geographical Science at 46%, followed by the veterinary sector with 36% and the total of Agriculture (incl. of Aquaculture & Horticulture)/Forestry/Rural Management/Food and Beverage at 18%. Most HNC/D programmes are within Agriculture (incl. of Aquaculture and Horticulture) /Forestry/Rural Management, reflecting a vocational progression pathway which is not available within most of the other areas.

Table 7: Enrolments on Land-based and Aquaculture courses 2020-21

Course/Subject	First degree			HNC/HND
	F/T	P/T	All	F/T	P/T	All
05-Others in veterinary
sciences	380	20	400	-	-	-
05-Veterinary medicine and dentistry	1465	5	1470	-	-	-
06-Agricultural sciences	-	-	-	-	-	-
06-Agriculture	410	35	445	685	100	785
06-Animal Science	95	10	105	10	35	45
06-Food and Beverage production	65	-	65	-	-	-
06-Food and beverage studies (non-specific)	175	-	175	-	-	-
06-Food sciences	60	-	60	-	-	-
06-Forestry and arboriculture	20	-	20	75	40	115
06-Rural estate management	80	-	80	85	20	105
26-Earth sciences	655	15	670	-	-	-
26-Environmental sciences	340	330	670	55	40	95
26-Geography (non-specific)	185	15	200	-	-	-
26-Others in geographical studies	-	-	-	-	-	-
26-Physical geographical sciences	965	100	1065	-	-	-
All	4895	530	5425	910	235	1145

Table 8 shows that 86% of HEI activity within the areas covered, are at 1^st degree or postgraduate level, with only 14% at HNC/D level.

Table 8: Enrolments on Land-based and Aquaculture courses by level of study 2020-21

Level of Study Enrolments	F/T	P/T	Total
First Degree	4890	535	5420
HNC/HND	905	235	1140
Other Undergraduate	5	125	130
Postgraduate	1590	950	2540
Total	7390	1845	9235

Source: HESA Student data, SG Analysis - Based on CAH/HECOS codes - '05', '06' and '26' (Science based)

Table 9 provides a more detailed breakdown of the main land-based and Food and Drink subjects undertaken across Scottish HEIs. Progression routes from HNC/D to degree provision are offered in 5 out of the 13 areas (with entries). Degree uptake is highest within Agriculture & Sustainable Agriculture/landscape (39%), Food & Beverage (33%) and the other areas of (Animal science, Equine, Horticulture, Aquaculture and Countryside Management) at (28%). The degree uptake within the priority sector of Aquaculture is low and is not balanced with any HNC/D uptake, as this sector has moved to an MA pathway.

Table 9: Land-Based/Aquaculture and Food/Beverage related courses 2020-21

Course/Subject	First degree			HNC/HND
	F/T	P/T	All	F/T	P/T	All
Animal behaviour	5	-	5	-	-	-
Animal science	80	-	80	-	20	20
Equine studies	15	10	25	10	15	25
Agriculture	190	10	200	215	25	240
Animal management	-	-	-	290	15	305
Aquaculture	10	-	10	-	-	-
Horticulture	65	5	70	175	60	235
International agriculture	25	-	25	-	-	-
Livestock	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sustainable agriculture and landscape development	115	20	135	-	-	-
Countryside management	80	-	80	80	10	90
Gamekeeping management	-	-	-	5	10	15
Food and beverage studies	175	-	175	-	-	-
Food science	60	-	60	-	-	-
Brewing	40	-	40	-	-	-
Food and beverage production	25	-	25	-	-	-
Food safety	-	-	-	-	-	-

Table 10 details the land-based provision delivered across Scotland’s Colleges using the SFC land-based Superclass and subject codes identified in Appendix 8.

Table 10: Enrolments to Land-based/Aquaculture course at Scotland’s Colleges 2020-21 by Subject, Mode of Study and Gender

Course/Subject	Full Time				Other Part Time
	Female	Male	Other	Total	Female	Male	Other	Total
Further Education	730	745	15	1490	1550	1770	15	3340
Agricultural/Horticultural Engineering/Farm Management	5	95	0	100	5	115	0	120
Agricultural/Horticultural Maintenance	20	50	0	65	15	60	0	75
Agricultural/Horticultural (general)	165	295	5	465	195	755	5	960
Amenity Horticulture	5	35	0	40	30	125	0	155
Animal Husbandry	150	100	5	255	490	235	5	735
Crop Protection/Fertilisers/By Products	0	0	0	0	15	125	0	140
Earth Sciences	0	0	0	0	15	5	0	25
Energy Economics/Management/ Conservation	0	0	0	0	0	30	0	30
Environmental Protection/Conservation	0	0	0	0	25	15	0	40
Fish Production/Fisheries	0	0	0	0	15	110	0	125
Forestry/Timber Production	10	65	0	75	15	40	0	55
Gardening/Floristry	40	55	0	95	340	70	0	410
Land and Sea Surveying/Cartography	0	0	0	0	15	10	0	20
Land Based Studies	0	0	0	0	60	30	0	90
Pets/Domestic Animal Care	195	45	0	240	80	30	5	115
Rural/Agricultural Business Organisation	5	5	0	10	0	5	0	5
Veterinary Services	140	5	0	145	230	5	0	235
Higher Education	235	320	5	560	70	925	5	1000
Agriculture	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Animal Husbandry Group	80	10	0	90	0	0	0	0
Applied Biology	130	95	0	225	5	5	0	10
Biology	10	10	0	20	0	0	0	0
Environmental Engineering	0	0	0	0	20	65	0	85
Food Hygiene	0	0	0	0	5	10	0	15
Food Technology/Manufacture	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gamekeeping Sporting Management	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Horticulture	10	25	0	35	0	0	0	0
Marine Engineering	5	180	0	185	40	820	5	865
Sea Fishing	0	0	0	0	0	20	0	20
Total	965	1065	15	2045	1620	2690	25	4335

Source: SFC Student data, SG analysis using Superclass and HE Subject codes 2020-21

Analysis of the FE full-time provision shows the Animal Husbandry/Animal Care and Veterinary services (vet nursing) has the highest uptake at 44%, followed by Horticulture and Agriculture at 40%, Agricultural/Horticultural Engineering at 11% and Forestry Timber production at 5%. Part-time courses are less clear as these may include School link, block release activities and a wide range of other fundable skills-based courses. Animal Care/Husbandry/Veterinary services and Horticulture have a high part-time uptake. The college based HE land-based provision excludes the HEI data previously discussed (in tables 7, 8 & 9) and does not include SRUC or UHI data. Therefore, the levels of HE land-based activity is significantly lower and reflects the activity of only a few FE colleges undertaking some general and specialist programmes for example Biology.

Table 11 below identifies the Modern Apprenticeships currently being undertaken across the different industries. The 2020/21 information is included within earlier tables but is shown here in detail to identify Sector engagement with this learning pathway.

Table 11: The Sector Modern Apprenticeship Total - Currently undertaking an MA

MA Framework	18/19	19/20	20/21	21/22	Total
Agriculture	102	65	97	72	336
Aquaculture	58	66	99	77	300
Aquaculture Management Technical Apprenticeship	15	18	21	23	77
Equine	25	10	26	9	70
Game and Wildlife Management	25	14	11	9	59
Horticulture	210	196	106	209	721
Land-based Engineering	47	58	29	50	184
Rural Skills	7	10	-	5	-
Trees and Timber	23	8	19	25	75
Wood and Timber Industries	-	11	8	12	-
Total	-	456	-	491	-

Source: SDS

Horticulture continues to show the highest number of employees currently undertaking their MA, with many apprenticeships supported by Local Authority employers. The MA and Technical apprenticeships in Aquaculture are increasing steadily and now provide the main funded training pathway for this industry^[30]. Agriculture and Land-Based Engineering numbers have also remained stable, with Agriculture not reflecting its uptake potential, as identified by stakeholder engagement discussions.

Annual new MA start trends, over recent years, within the Sector are shown in appendix 9. This identifies a relatively stable but low annual Sector MA uptake of around 270 compared to an industry such as Food & Drink at around 1200.

5.5 Distribution of Sector provision by college area or HEI provider

Tables 12 and 13 provide an indication of land-based education provider enrolments across all providers. The years reviewed are broadly unchanged reflecting a relatively stable and fixed recruitment pattern. The key specialist providers of land-based education are SRUC, UHI, Borders College and Dundee & Angus College.

Access to specialist courses can be dependent on location for many potential learners and on their ability to travel or live away from home. Internal research by SRUC has shown that this is particularly relevant with the more practically based full time National Certificate (NC) courses, where learners prefer to study within a reasonable travelling distance from home. The use of shared practical resources across provider regions and more flexible delivery models, may allow wider opportunities for rural and urban learners.

Table 12: Enrolments to Land-based/Aquaculture courses by College Region 2011-12 to 2018-19

	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19
Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire	371	315	315	282	297	101	99	396
Ayrshire	71	82	96	168	188	138	113	93
Borders	320	347	373	397	404	391	291	310
Dumfries and Galloway	3	6	17	20	19	12	0	0
Edinburgh	183	64	190	245	189	47	15	15
Fife	142	214	144	131	99	196	68	66
Forth Valley	51	40	71	86	114	329	316	134
Glasgow	1041	1755	1674	1464	1917	1840	1561	1627
Highlands and Islands	1219	1320	1520	1546	1648	1326	1516	1339
Lanarkshire	97	55	72	82	86	91	232	212
Newbattle Abbey College	21	41	33	57	29	19	12	11
SRUC	5177	4386	4167	4595	4419	4388	4984	4796
Tayside	562	513	636	394	467	392	417	516
West	107	62	119	3	36	0	46	19
West Lothian	0	0	0	0	0	0	54	0
Total	9365	9200	9427	9470	9912	9270	9724	9534

Source: SFC Student data, SG analysis using land-based Superclass and HE subject codes.

Table 13: Enrolments on Land-based and Aquaculture courses, at Scottish HEI providers, 2011-12 to 2018-19

Providers	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19
University of Abertay Dundee	5	200	20	15	195	200	195	175
Robert Gordon University	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Edinburgh Napier University	125	135	145	150	175	175	165	210
University of Edinburgh	1090	1150	1155	1160	1150	1165	1220	1275
University of Glasgow	760	830	815	930	875	855	855	880
University of Strathclyde	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
University of Aberdeen	40	35	35	20	35	30	30	25
Heriot-Watt University	165	110	115	100	105	110	185	190
University of Dundee	35	40	25	15	15	5	10	15
University of Stirling	155	150	155	140	130	145	150	145
SRUC	255	250	570	595	580	715	775	775
University of Highlands and Islands	365	380	250	250	225	255	310	305
Total	3000	3290	3295	3390	3495	3665	3900	4000

Source: HESA Student data, SG analysis using JACS codes – ‘4’ and ‘5’

5.6 Other providers of land-based education and skills

Other education and training providers include the Scottish Machinery Ring Network, Private Training Providers and Instructor Skills Networks^[31] (using Lantra or NPTC Awards). As these organisations are not SFC funded and some may have private individual SDS contracts to deliver MAs within the Sector, no publicly available data is provided. However, MA uptake data in Table 11 does include private training provider numbers. Many of the private providers work closely with the mainstream land-based colleges and offer valuable partnership access to industry networks and membership initiatives.

Lantra data in Table 14 below was made available to indicate the number and range of specialist upskilling short courses undertaken across the land-based industries in Scotland. The majority of short courses are focused on the attainment of legislative ‘tickets’ with a few on CPD supported through initiatives such as the Women in Agriculture Practical Training Fund and through Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC) courses. However, there is little current industry demand for CPD in practical training courses or understanding of natural capital or Net Zero production systems or green finance. The recent Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption training fund went some way to encourage this, but more support is required.^[32]

Table 14: Upskilling short courses delivered by Lantra Instructor networks

Short Course	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Pesticides	2214	2168	2776	1854	1702
Farm vehicles	1010	877	1221	626	862
Forestry and Arboriculture	2154	2317	2536	1846	1651
Landscape and Horticulture	2176	2257	2699	1215	1598
Plant Operation	1153	1026	1358	1075	1022
Other (Leadership, MEWPS etc)	453	421	663	301	384
Total	9160	9084	11253	6917	7219

Source: Lantra 2022

Recommendations

• For the new Agriculture Scotland Bill, as part of Tiers 3 and 4, to include provisions to enable support to fund upskilling/Continuing Professional Development (CPD)training for farmers and employees to support priority, quality non-legislative training towards a just transition to a green economy.
• Strongly recommend that Scottish Government incentivise uptake of structured Education and Training programmes to support the Agricultural sector.
• Undertake research which identifies key transferable skills required across different job roles within the Sector.

5.7. Education provision gender balance and ethnicity

5.7.1 FE/HE gender balance

Details of subject area gender balance is contained within Table 10 for FE Colleges course and Table 15, for the HEI Provision (see Appendix 10 for additional details). Almost twice as many females are studying the HEI selected subjects as males. The FE picture is almost balanced overall, although there are significant variations on a course-by-course level. In both HE and FE, there are particular subjects with significant imbalance for example Veterinary, Animal Care and Equine have a large female uptake, Forestry and Land-based engineering with a large male uptake, reflecting the industry norms^[33].

Table 15: Land-based Enrolment Gender Balance at Scottish HEIs 2020-21

Course/Subject	Female	Male	Total
05-Others in veterinary sciences	400	25	425
05-Veterinary medicine and dentistry	1475	340	1815
06-Agricultural sciences	65	35	100
06-Agriculture	945	560	1515
06-Animal science	275	45	320
06-Food and beverage production	35	125	165
06-Food and beverage studies (non-specific)	140	35	180
06-Food sciences	55	30	80
06-Forestry and arboriculture	40	120	160
06-Rural estate management	125	115	235
26-Earth Sciences	635	595	1235
26-Environmental sciences	755	570	1330
26-Geography (non-specific)	125	85	210
26-Others in geographical studies	55	60	115
26-Physical geographical sciences	830	525	1355
All	5955	3260	9235

Source: HESA Student data, SG analysis based on HECOS codes – ‘5’,’06’ and ‘26’

Graph 4 compares the land-based Sector FE and HE provision, with other subjects to identify any significant features of the provision. Within HE there are 12% more female enrolments than within other subjects but 11% fewer females’ enrolments within FE. It could be concluded that female applicants are drawn to more advanced courses which are less practical in nature or have a more clearly defined career pathway for example Veterinary Science or provide wider career options for example Environmental Sciences. However, the Agriculture female balance would suggest otherwise and further investigation of this would be required to enable any firm conclusions to be drawn.

Source: HESA and SFC data 2022

5.7.2 Education provision FE/HE relevant protected characteristics

Graph 5 compares the land-based Sector FE and HE ethnicity mix, with other subjects to identify any significant features of the provision (see Appendix 10 for more details). The broad picture in percentage terms, is one very similar to that of other subjects with perhaps more (8%) white enrolments at HE than other subjects. However, the numbers of minority ethnic enrolments in the HEI Sector are 135 compared to 21,845 in other subjects and direct percentage comparisons must be treated with care. The Sector does need to engage more widely and reach out to underrepresented groups.

"Being what you see"- not enough people from minority groups represented in the sector”

Source: HESA and SFC data 2022

Recommendations

• Ensure learning from interventions such as the Women in Agriculture Taskforce and Women in Scottish Aquaculture is used to inform actions to attract more women into sectors where there is a gender imbalance.
• Ensure learning from interventions support other groups which are under-represented in the Sector.
• Sector ‘Industry Leadership Groups’ (or equivalent) to establish what help or interventions would enable their industries to meet fair work requirements.

5.8 Regional Variation in education provision

The report data and stakeholder feedback confirms that learner interest and access to nature-based education and training is influenced by their location. More rural schools undertake SfW and NPA’s courses, FE course uptake^[34] is focused around regional availability, with HE course uptake generally less regional. SRUC and UHI have a number of regional delivery sites which allow a wider national access to many Sector courses (see Appendix 11).

The New Entrants to Farming Programme^[35] is one example of support available to those wishing to enter the agriculture sector and some larger Aquaculture employers have taken steps to minimise some of the rural issues for example installing private internet networks, working with local community partnerships and providing modular housing. However, transport, affordable housing, childcare and health care issues, remain a significant barrier to those who may wish to study, work and live in rural Scotland.

The recent Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) research^[36] has identified a wide range of rural issues which impact upon studying, living and working across Scotland’s different rural areas. Similar issues are identified within wider youth reports^[37] and many of the land-based industry reviews referenced within this report.

The impact of ‘digital isolation’, separation from peers and family during study, work placement and employment in rural communities cannot be overstated. These have a significant impact on employee/trainee wellbeing and the ‘attractiveness’ of many land-based job roles. The need for greater ‘pastoral care’ and training support of young and MA apprentices, by providers and employers, was raised by stakeholders as a critical issue which can affect MA learner uptake, retention and success.

There are some industry specific challenges too, with forestry programmes now only available at SRUC Barony and UHI Inverness and Aquaculture now solely work-based. Eight Scottish universities do offer full or part-time Aquaculture related degrees and UHI provide the only Forestry degree programme in Scotland. Forestry is particularly vulnerable in the HE context due to the longitudinal nature of forest research which means the majority is undertaken by the national body; Forest Research,^[38]. This is understandable, but due to the combination of low student numbers and limited opportunities for research funding, there is only one Forestry degree provider in Scotland, England and Wales respectively, and this is unlikely to increase in the immediate future.

Short industry upskilling courses are very much driven by local demand and the availability of qualified instructors^[39], which have cost and availability implications for remote rural industries and learners.

Scottish Government policies to support those who wish to study and work in the rural land-based sector, will need to be more focused and innovative, if they are to have any sustainable impact on the Sector recruitment and skills shortages.

Recommendation

• Support the retention of critical Higher Education provision in areas such as forestry and aquaculture by developing innovative ways to extend the reach of their delivery.