LI Skills and Workforce Research 2022 published - The Landscape Institute
The Landscape Institute has launched Skills for Greener Places – the result of an industry-wide assessment of skills and workforce issues in the wider landscape economy.
This research includes evidence to help the landscape sector grow and overcome challenges.
As well as the report itself, launched at the Jellicoe Lecture in London, the LI is publishing the data in an online dashboard, for local areas to explore the issues that matter most to them –and so that others can collaborate on building the evidence base needed to overcome these challenges.
Ben Brown, Head of Policy and Research at the Landscape Institute said: “Landscape can make places that are more resilient to climate change; it can support nature recovery, improve public health, and make places more beautiful and more prosperous. But the UK won’t unlock all of these benefits unless it considers the supply-side challenges which hold this sector back. Our assessment is that the main supply-side challenge in this case is skills shortages.”
Some of the main findings of the research are that:
- the UK has major green skills gaps, which are inhibiting its ability to deliver on its plans for local climate adaptation and nature recovery
- Over 50% of businesses in this sector have a hard-to-fill vacancy, and businesses are having to turn down contracts to make places greener
- Market demand for landscape skills is extremely high – particularly driven by biodiversity and nature recovery
- Skills gaps exist across all parts of the UK, but are particularly acute in the public sector and outside of the large cities – which will be exacerbating regional inequalities, particularly around well designed places
- The workforce is older and whiter than the UK average. An aging workforce will make skills shortages worse in the medium term
- The landscape sector is worth around £24.6bn to the economy in Gross Value Added terms alone, and is growing almost twice as fast than the wider economy average (18% compared to 10% since 2010)