Hadlow College is making big investments in commercial horticulture in a bid to address a worrying skills gap and advance research in the sector.
The current global population exceeds 7.3 billion and the latest United Nations projections indicate that it will reach 10 billion people in the year 2056.
In line with this trend, the land-based college – one of only 14 in the UK – is making concerted efforts to bring through the next generation of horticulturalists and address a long-standing skills shortage in the sector. According to a 2016 study by Pershore College in Warwickshire, 72 per cent of UK horticulture businesses are unable to fill skilled vacancies.
The land-based college, based in Hadlow, Kent, has spent £2.5 million improving its horticulture facilities in the past two-and-a-half years, building facilities for commercial crop trials as well as classroom teaching.
The investments include a £1.5m revamp of Hadlow’s classroom labs and outdoor facilities at its campus in Mottingham, south east London, as well as a new £1m greenhouse at the college’s main campus in Kent, designed in conjunction with Thanet Earth.
The new glasshouse, due to be finished by Christmas, will be used for commercial trials in tomatoes and as a teaching aid for students on the college’s BSc (Hons) programme in commercial horticulture – one of the only such courses in the UK.
In addition, the college has worked in partnership with the borough of Greenwich to create a bespoke urban horticultural centre on Shooters Hill to test sustainable growing techniques.
Planting has already started at the facility, which has been fitted with raised beds for vertical growing. Sustainable production techniques such as rainwater harvesting and experiments with different compost types are being used to grow a range of salad crops and herbs.
Commenting on the investments, Hadlow College’s deputy principal Mark Lumsdon-Taylor said: “I’ve been very clear and strategic about investing in commercial horticukture. We decided to invest heavily in horticulture to boost a sector that needs and deserves all the support it can get.”
In a bid to encourage more students onto its BSc (Hons) course in commercial horticiulture, the college is also offering three bursaries worth 80 per cent of tuition fees for the first year of the undergraduate programme for entry in either 2017 or 2018.
Application forms and further information on the bursaries can be obtained from Patricia Crawford Associates: 01622 618628, pat.crawford@hadlow.ac.uk. Applications will close on 1 June 2017 and shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview.
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