Transferable skills in land-based and aquaculture sectors: review

2. Methods

This section outlines the methods used in the research. It involved three stages. First, an evidence review of literature on transferable skills in the land-based and aquaculture sectors was conducted, resulting in 28 sources. Then, a content analysis of the 246 career profiles listed on Lantra’s careers website was conducted. Finally, 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders in the sectors.

This research involved three stages:

1. An evidence review of literature on transferable skills in the land-based and aquaculture sectors;

2. A content analysis of Lantra’s careers website;

3. Semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the sectors.

2.1. Evidence review

An evidence review was conducted to identify current knowledge about transferable skills in the land-based and aquaculture sectors. This involved searching Google, Google Scholar, internal evidence databases including KandE, and Web of Science for key search terms. These included ’transferable skills’; ‘land-based sector’; ‘aquaculture sector’; ‘green skills’; ‘green jobs’; ‘Just Transition’; ‘agriculture skills’; ‘aquaculture skills’; ‘forestry skills’; ‘conservation skills’; and ‘wildlife skills’.

Sources of evidence were restricted to those that had been published within the last 10 years. Sources from all English-speaking countries were considered given the scarcity of evidence produced by the searches. However, most of the sources were still UK-based. The review focused on a variety of evidence types, including peer-reviewed journal articles, industry reports, government publications, and other grey literature, ensuring a broad and comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Sources were carefully assessed for quality and relevance to the research. Overall, a total of 28 relevant publications were identified. Key evidence was extracted from these and categorised into three key themes: transferable skills, skills in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, and ‘green skills’ in the context of the Just Transition. Appendix 1 includes an annotated bibliography of the six most relevant sources.

2.2. Content analysis of Lantra’s careers website

Lantra is a skills training organisation specialising in the land-based and aquaculture sectors. Their website provides in-depth career information across 12 industries, listing 246 career options and detailing the skills required for each role. We chose to use the Lantra data because Lantra is a leading organisation in the provision of skills and training in the sectors. We conducted a search of career profiles across multiple websites, and Lantra’s seemed the best fit, as the skill lists aligned well with the sectors included in the Commission for the Land-based Learning Review’s report.

The content analysis was carried out in five stages. Stage 1 aimed to identify the most common skills across the sectors that could be considered transferable to various careers. Stage 2 involved grouping careers by industry to determine which skills are most frequently required within specific industries. Stage 3 further classified careers by job grade – supervised, supervisory, and senior – to highlight the most transferable skills at different levels of responsibility.

Stage 4 examined similarities in skill sets across industries. By identifying the top 10 skills most commonly listed within each industry, this stage revealed areas of skill overlap between industries, which could facilitate easier transitions for workers moving between sectors. The degree of similarity between industries’ skill sets was measured using Jaccard’s Similarity Index,^[16] which quantifies the overlap between two sets of skills.

Finally, in Stage 5, a hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted to group industries based on shared skill sets. Unlike Stage 4, which compared industries in pairs, this stage focused on forming broader clusters of industries with similar skills. The clustering revealed which sectors could benefit from coordinated training initiatives and emphasised the importance of developing key transferable skills within each cluster. This would help align workers’ skill sets with the increasing demand for ‘green jobs’, strengthening their position within a changing job market.

2.3. Semi-structured interviews

A total of 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders from Scotland’s land-based and aquaculture sectors. The sample included four representatives from training organisations within these sectors, as well as six representatives of land-based or aquaculture industry bodies in Scotland.

The final list of stakeholders was agreed in collaboration with the policy team overseeing the research. All participants were informed that their participation was voluntary, and they had the option to skip any questions they were not comfortable answering. Each participant was provided with a participant information sheet (see Appendix 2), privacy notice (see Appendix 3), and a consent form to sign (see Appendix 4). The interviews took place online, using Microsoft Teams, between 27th January and 14th February 2025. They were recorded, transcribed, and each lasted up to one hour. Quotes from the interviews in Section 5 are attributed to the relevant industry or type of organisation each participant represented. A Data Protection Impact Assessment was prepared, and interviewees were made aware of this.

The interview guide (see Appendix 5) was developed based on findings from the first two stages. The interviews assessed whether stakeholders believed findings from these stages accurately represented the transferable skills and skill needs within their sector. Additionally, the interviews aimed to gather insights into the perceived benefits and barriers to promoting transferable skills. Furthermore, during the content analysis, it was noted that non-technical skills were more frequently highlighted as transferable than technical skills. This is potentially due to Lantra’s career profiles’ role in attracting new entrants to the sectors. Consequently, the interviews were also designed to further explore the transferability of technical skills.^[17]