Overview of the environmental sector and the current status of its training provision.
- The U.K heritage sector comprises 17 different industries covering all ecological, environmental and land-based activity.
- It is growing rapidly and is currently estimated to have a turnover of £16 billion.
- Environmental Conservation represents one of these industries, whose purpose is the conservation of wildlife, landscapes and heritage.
- Environmental Conservation employs c.170,000 workers and works alongside 200,000 volunteers.
- Demand for environmental conservation specific skills is increasing with many jobs and voluntary positions available each week.
But, there is a skills shortage...
The evidence that backs this skills shortage in Environmental Conservation is:
- LANTRA Sector skills council suggest the sector is currently facing a skills deficiency which will have major impacts now and in the future (LANTRA 2005; Skills deficiencies in environmental conservation).
- Technical skills such as: Wildlife Monitoring and Survey; Species identification, habitat management and heritage interpretation
- Generic transferable skills such as: communication, I.C.T., team working, project management, interpersonal and self management.
Will UK nature conservationists have the skills to make critical decisions about bio-diversity in the future?
Evidence presented to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee suggest that the UK is losing the fundamental field skills that enable both amateur naturalists and professional wildlife organisations to monitor the health and
well-being of our wildlife and their habitats.
Challenge for environmental organisations!
Employers are struggling to recruit staff with the right mix of specialist skills, such as species identification, habitat survey and management and heritage interpretation, alongside the more generic, softer skills such as project management.
Tackling this growing skills shortage!
This challenge has been recognised by the Heritage Lottery Fund. In December 2005 HLF awarded funding to the Herefordshire Nature Trust and its project partners Ambios Ltd (not for profit) and Sheffield Wildlife Trust to develop an innovative and exemplar training scheme that would help improve the quality of skills available to the heritage sector.
