Apprentice Joe is helping to keep traditional skills alive (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Chris Holland on the land-based skills that are in great demand from rural businesses

10:13am Wednesday 14th April 2010 in Business By Chris Holland

Outdoors enthusiast Joe Whitham has taken up his dream apprenticeship with the help of a programme to support training for traditional rural skills.

Joe, 18, from Gargrave, near Skipton, has started a two-year Learning and Skills Council-funded placement on the Bolton Abbey estate as an apprentice gamekeeper after completing a diploma in land management at Craven College.

His working day includes helping the gamekeepers with their dogs, vermin control, feeding pheasants and helping out with grouse and pheasant shoots.

A far cry from traditional industry-based apprenticeships, the scheme is seen as an important opportunity in the region’s rural economy where some sectors, in spite of the downturn, are struggling to find suitable people for jobs requiring traditional country skills.

The LSC provides funding for a range of land-based skills courses, including those at Craven College, to ensure an adequate supply of qualified candidates to meet skills gaps in rural areas.

Joe’s mother and grandfather run the family farm at Bondcroft Farm, Embsay, on the Bolton Abbey Estate.

Joe said: “I am the first gamekeeper in the family, and have never considered any other career than being outdoors. I absolutely love it.

“Gamekeeping and working in the country is a way of life. It isn’t nine-to-five and we’re often out at weekends just helping to check things over, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“There are corporate shooting days, so we help with grouse shooting up on the moors, or pheasant shooting in the woods and the valleys.”

Paul Wilby, head keeper on the estate, manages a team of five under-keepers and one river-keeper. The estate often works with young people from Craven College and is keen to offer work experience.

Paul said: “We work with apprentices to give them a good start to understanding the basics of working on a large estate. That might also include burning the heather, road mending or bracken and rush spraying. We will do our best to help those young people who are committed to getting the jobs they want. It is very much a way of life, and that’s why some can’t give their full commitment.

“We know Joe because his family farms on the estate. If he does well and works hard, we will do what we can to help him find a job. As a member of the National Gamekeepers Association, we are keen to encourage the next generation for the future, and to give young people a chance.”

A “Skills Assessment” research report in October 2009 warned of a critical shortage of skilled workers in the environmental and land-based sector. The report said that the sector had undergone great change in recent years which had led to an increased demand for staff with higher skills.

David Hodges, LSC regional director of skills, said: “There are very few jobs where some form of qualification is not required – and the rural sector is no exception. We work closely with colleges in rural areas offering support to ensure training is available in traditional land-based skills, some of which might be in danger of dying out.

“We’re committed to boosting the skills of people living in rural areas to give them the best possible chance of improving their job and career prospects.

“It is vital in the current economic climate that young people like Joe are equipped with the skills for employment to help support the future growth and success of the region’s industries and economy. At the same time, this type of training ensures that employers have access to a pool of potential recruits with appropriate skills in land-based specialisms.”