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Publication - Research and analysis

Transferable skills in land-based and aquaculture sectors: review

Published
18 March 2025
From
Director-General Net Zero
Directorate
Environment and Forestry Directorate
Topic
Farming and rural, Work and skills
ISBN
9781836914280

This research report provides an overview of research undertaken to identify transferable skills in Scotland’s land-based and aquaculture sectors.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

4. Content analysis of Lantra’s careers data findings

This chapter presents an overview of the content analysis conducted on Lantra’s career profiles. The analysis identified several transferable skills across sectors, including verbal communication, teamwork, and IT proficiency. However, key transferable skills vary by industry and job grade. Additionally, some pairs of industries share more similar skill sets than others. Based on these findings, industries within the land-based and aquaculture sectors can be grouped into three skill clusters: 1. Agri-Environment, 2. Animal and Logistics, and 3. Natural Resources and Conservation.

4.1. Transferable skills in the land-based and aquaculture sectors

  • The Lantra data suggests that verbal communication, teamwork, and IT use are the most transferable skills across the land-based and aquaculture sectors.
  • Non-technical skills appear to be more transferable than technical skills
  • Many of the most transferable skills are in short supply across the sectors.

Stage 1 of the content analysis examined transferable skills across all careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors. The skills identified as the most transferable were those that appeared across the most career profiles.

Figure 1. Verbal communication, teamwork, and IT use are the most transferable skills in the land-based and aquaculture sectors
A bar chart showing that verbal communication, teamwork, and IT use are the skills that appeared across the most career profiles.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

The analysis revealed a range of skills that are highly transferable across jobs in the land-based and aquaculture sectors. Figure 1 shows that verbal communication, teamwork, and IT proficiency appeared across the most career profiles, making them the most transferable skills. This supports the findings of the evidence review, which suggested that people skills like communication and teamwork and IT skills like Microsoft Office and Global Positioning System (GPS) use are highly transferable.[47] The skills identified here also largely align with the findings of previous research on transferable skills within the land-based and aquaculture sectors.[48] However, some additional skills, such as the ability to work under pressure and flexibility and adaptability, also emerged here that have not been highlighted in past studies.

Notably, more non-technical skills appear in the list than technical ones, reinforcing earlier research that highlights the importance of non-technical skills in the land-based and aquaculture sectors.[49] Other transferable non-technical skills identified include the ability to work under pressure, a strong understanding of health and safety, and flexibility and adaptability. However, some technical skills were also identified as transferable, including having a driving licence and fitness. Notably, the transferability of technical skills was further explored in the interviews, and other technical skills were highlighted as transferable, as explored in Section 5.

As discussed in the evidence review, several of these transferable skills – especially IT skills and people skills such as teamwork and communication – are recognised as skill gaps within the sector, highlighting the need for them to be central to future training programs. Furthermore, flexibility and adaptability are expected to become more important skills as the transition to ‘green jobs’ requires workers to be increasingly responsive to change.

4.2. Transferable skills within industries

  • The most transferable skills vary across different industries.
  • Many industries share common transferable skills.
  • Specific technical skills or specialised knowledge can be highly transferable within certain industries.

Stage 2 of the content analysis focused on identifying the most transferable skills within specific industries. Career profiles were grouped by industry, allowing the identification of the skills found across the most careers within each industry.

Figure 2. The most transferable skills in the agriculture industry are verbal communication, IT use, and coordination
Bar chart showing that verbal communication, IT use, and coordination are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the agriculture industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 2 shows that verbal communication, IT use, and coordination are the most transferable skills in the agriculture industry.

Figure 3. The most transferable skills in the animal care industry are animal care, verbal communication, and customer service
Bar chart showing that animal care, verbal communication, and customer service are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the animal care industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 3 highlights that animal care, verbal communication, and customer service are the most transferable skills in animal care jobs.

Figure 4. Verbal communication, knowledge of fish, and IT use are the most transferable skills in the aquaculture industry
Bar chart showing that verbal communication, knowledge of fish, and IT use are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the aquaculture industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 4 demonstrates that in the aquaculture industry, verbal communication, knowledge of fish, and IT use are the most transferable skills.

Figure 5. Verbal communication, IT use, and teamwork are the most transferable skills in the environmental conservation industry
Bar chart showing that verbal communication, IT use, and teamwork are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the environmental conservation industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 5 shows that verbal communication, IT use, and teamwork are the most transferable skills in the environmental conservation industry.

Figure 6. The most transferable skills in the equine industry are verbal communication, knowledge of horses, and working under pressure
Bar chart showing that verbal communication, knowledge of horses, and working under pressure are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the equine industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 6 highlights that in the equine industry, the most transferable skills are verbal communication, knowledge of horses, and working under pressure.

Figure 7. Verbal communication, environmental knowledge, and teamwork are the most transferable skills in the fisheries management industry
Bar chart showing that verbal communication, environmental knowledge, and teamwork are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the fisheries management industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 7 shows that verbal communication, environmental knowledge, and teamwork are the most transferable skills in the fisheries management industry.

Figure 8. The most transferable skills in the forestry and arboriculture industry are IT use, verbal communication, and teamwork
Bar chart showing that IT use, verbal communication, and teamwork are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the forestry and arboriculture industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 8 demonstrates that in the forestry and arboriculture industry, the most transferable skills are IT use, verbal communication, and teamwork.

Figure 9. The most transferable skills in the highways industry are teamwork, verbal communication, and flexibility and adaptability
Bar chart showing that teamwork, verbal communication, and flexibility and adaptability are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the highways industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 9 highlights that teamwork, verbal communication, and flexibility and adaptability are the most transferable skills in the highways industry.

Figure 10. Verbal communication, having a driving license, and teamwork are the most transferable skills in the horticulture and landscaping industry
Bar chart showing that verbal communication, having a driving licence, and teamwork are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the horticulture and landscaping industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 10 shows that verbal communication, having a driving licence, and teamwork are the most transferable skills in the horticulture and landscaping industry.

Figure 11. The most transferable skills in the land-based engineering industry are knowledge of land-based machinery, IT use, and coordination
Bar chart showing that knowledge of land-based machinery, IT use, and coordination are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the land-based engineering industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 11 shows that having a knowledge of land-based machinery, IT use, and coordination are the most transferable skills in the land-based engineering industry.

Figure 12. The most transferable skills in the warehousing and logistics industry are IT use, attention to detail, and organisation
Bar chart showing that IT use, attention to detail, and organisation are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the warehousing and logistics industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 12 shows that IT use, attention to detail, and organisation are the most transferable skills in the warehousing and logistics industry.

Figure 13. Verbal communication, having a driving licence, and fitness are the most transferable skills in the wildlife management industry
Bar chart showing that verbal communication, having a driving licence, and fitness are the skills that appear across the most job profiles in the wildlife management industry.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 13 shows that in the wildlife management industry, the most transferable skills are verbal communication, having a driving licence, and fitness.

While many industries share common transferable skills – such as those identified across the sector as a whole – there are also skills that are particularly important within certain industries. For example, as shown in Figure 12, IT proficiency is the most transferable skill in warehousing and logistics careers, reflecting the growing importance of digital technology in storage, sales, and transportation management.

IT proficiency is also the most transferable skill in the forestry and arboriculture industry, as shown in Figure 8. In the highways industry, teamwork is the most transferable skill (see Figure 9), while animal care, patience and customer service rank among the top five. Fitness is a vital transferable skill in some industries, such as land-based engineering and wildlife management (see Figures 11 and 13), but not others.

Knowledge about a specific topic can also be transferable within some industries. For example, knowledge of land-based machinery is the most transferable skill in the land-based engineering industry, as shown in Figure 11. Furthermore, knowledge of law and legislation is transferable across environmental conservation careers (see Figure 5). An interesting finding is that the ability to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology is the fifth most transferable skill in the forestry and arboriculture industry (see Figure 8). This proficiency has previously been highlighted as a skill gap in the industry, suggesting that it is an important area for skills development.[50]

4.3. Transferable skills within job grades

  • The most transferable skills vary between job grades in the land-based and aquaculture sectors.
  • Transferable skills in supervised jobs, such as coordination and health and safety awareness, reflect the physical nature of many jobs.
  • In senior roles, team management skills like business and finance and staff supervision are highly transferable.

Stage 3 of the content analysis examined how transferable skills vary across job grades within the sector. Careers were grouped according to grade to identify the skills that appeared most frequently across professions.

Figure 14. The most transferable skills for supervised jobs are verbal communication, coordination, and teamwork
Bar chart showing that verbal communication, coordination, and teamwork are the skills that appear across the most supervised job profiles.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 14 shows that verbal communication, coordination, and teamwork are the most transferable skills in supervised jobs. Health and safety and IT use are also transferable. Transferable skills in supervised roles – such as teamwork, coordination, and an awareness of health and safety – reflect the physical demands of many jobs in the land-based and aquaculture sectors.

Figure 15. Communication, coordination, and teamwork are the most transferable skills for supervisory jobs
Bar chart showing that verbal communication, teamwork, and IT use are the skills that appear across the most supervisory job profiles.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 15 shows that in supervisory jobs, the most transferable skills are verbal communication, teamwork, and IT use. These jobs require similar skills to supervised jobs, but working under pressure is also a highly transferable skill.

Figure 16. The most transferable skills for senior jobs are verbal communication, IT use, and business and finance
Bar chart showing that verbal communication, IT use, and business and finance are the skills that appear across the most senior job profiles.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 16 shows that the most transferable skills in senior jobs are verbal communication, IT use, and business and finance. It is notable that in senior roles, transferable skills are more focused on managing others, including staff supervision, business and finance, and attention to detail. Notably, verbal communication remains the most transferable skill across job grades, highlighting its importance in the sector and supporting previous research emphasising its role in facilitating transitions between job grades.[51]

4.4. Skill set similarity across industry pairs

  • Some industries have more similar skill sets than others, meaning workers may find it easier to transition between these industries.
  • The pairs of industries with the most similar skill sets are agriculture and animal care; equine and animal care; fisheries management and wildlife management; and warehousing and agriculture.

Stage 4 of the content analysis explored skill set similarities between pairs of industries, identifying overlapping skills that can facilitate workforce mobility and inform targeted training initiatives. Skill sets were defined based on the 10 most common transferable skills in each industry.

Figure 17. Some industries have more closely aligned skill sets than others
Similarity plot showing the similarity of skill sets between different industries. The industries with the most similar skill sets are the animal care and equine industries and the wildlife management and fisheries management industries.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 17 shows that some industries have more similar skill sets than other pairs and therefore share more transferable skills. The pairs of industries with the most similar skills are agriculture and animal care, equine and animal care, fisheries and wildlife management, and warehousing and agriculture. Figures 18 to 21 highlight the skill set overlaps between these four pairs of industries.

Figure 18. The agriculture and animal care industries share similar skills
A graphic showing a two-way arrow between an agricultural worker and an animal care worker.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Both agriculture and animal care can require key skills like knowledge of animals, flexibility, and coordination.

Figure 19. The equine and animal care industries require similar skill sets
A graphic showing a two-way arrow between an equine worker and an animal care worker.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Jobs in the equine industry and animal care both require skills like patience, attention to detail, and knowledge of animals.

Figure 20. Similar skill sets are required in the fisheries and wildlife management industries
A graphic showing a two-way arrow between a wildlife management worker and a fisheries management worker.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Both the fisheries and wildlife management industries require skills like attention to detail, knowledge of the environment and sustainability, and an awareness of health and safety.

Figure 21. The warehousing and agriculture industries require similar skill sets
A graphic showing a two-way arrow between an agricultural worker and a warehousing worker.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Warehousing and agriculture can require similar skills like IT use and coordination.

The literature on transferable skills suggests that skill transferability is often greater between occupations with similar tasks or environments. This appears to be the case in the land-based and aquaculture industries, as many of the industry pairs in Figures 18 to 21 share similar settings or common practices.[52] For example, the equine and animal care industries both involve working with animals.

4.5. Skill clusters of industries

  • Industries can be grouped into three clusters with similar skill sets: Agri-Environment, Animal and Logistics, and Natural Resources and Conservation.
  • A clustering approach can help to facilitate skills training coordination within the land-based and aquaculture sectors.

Stage 5 of the content analysis clusters industries based on their skill sets. Previous research has highlighted the value of considering transferable skills within occupational clusters.[53] This approach promotes the development of core transferable skills across each cluster and helps align workers’ skills with emerging ‘green jobs’ within their cluster, thereby enhancing their position in the labour market. Figure 22 shows the results of the cluster analysis conducted on the career profiles in the Lantra data.

Figure 22. Industries can be grouped into three clusters, each sharing core skills
A plot showing the industries that can be clustered into the Agri-Environment, Animal and Logistics, and Natural Resources and Conservation industries. The Agri-Environment cluster comprises agriculture and horticulture and land-scaping. The Animal and Logistics cluster comprises warehousing and logistics, land-based engineering, equine, and animal care industries. The Natural Resources and Conservation cluster comprises aquaculture, environmental conservation, fisheries management, forestry and arboriculture, highways, and wildlife management.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 23. The Agri-Environment skill cluster requires skills like a knowledge of soil, communication, and IT use
An infographic showing that knowledge of soil, communication, and IT use are important skills in the Agri-Environment cluster.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 23 shows cluster 1 – the Agri-Environment Skills Cluster. This cluster includes the horticulture, landscaping, and agriculture industries. Key skills in this cluster include verbal communication, IT use, and knowledge of soil.

Figure 24. Industries in the Natural Resources and Conservation cluster require skills like fitness, organisation, teamwork, and IT use
An infographic showing that teamwork, IT use, fitness, and organisation are important skills in the Natural Resources and Conservation cluster.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 24 shows cluster 2 – the Animal and Logistics Skills Cluster – which encompasses the animal care, equine, land-based engineering, and warehousing and logistics industries. Transferable skills across this cluster include coordination, attention to detail, and working under pressure.

Figure 25. The Animal and Logistics skills cluster requires skills like attention to detail, coordination, and working under pressure
An infographic showing that coordination, attention to detail, and working under pressure are important skills in the Animal and Logistics cluster.

Source: Lantra skill lists for careers in the land-based and aquaculture sectors, accessed January 2025

Figure 25 shows cluster 3 – the Natural Resources and Conservation Skills Cluster. This cluster includes the wildlife management, highways, forestry and arboriculture, fisheries management, environmental conservation, and aquaculture industries. Essential skills in this cluster include fitness, teamwork, IT use, and organisation. These skills align with those previously identified as highly transferable within the conservation industry.[54]

Examination of the clusters and their core transferable skills reveals there is considerable overlap in skills across these clusters and the industries within them. These groupings provide a useful framework for considering how training programmes and skills courses can be targeted at workers with similar skill needs across the sector. Furthermore, use of the concept of clusters highlights how it may be easier for workers to transition between careers within their cluster.

4.6. Summary

This analysis reinforces the findings of the evidence review, highlighting that the most transferable skills within the land-based and aquaculture sectors are people skills, such as communication and teamwork, and IT skills. However, evidence suggests that these are also key skills shortages in the workforce, making them important areas for future skills training.

While transferable skills can vary between industries and job grades, there are significant skill overlaps. Some careers share more similar skill sets than others, allowing industries to be clustered into three groups with common transferable skills. This clustering could help targeted training programs to be coordinated more effectively.

Contact

Email: socialresearch@gov.scot

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