Sector Skills Council, Lantra, has welcomed plans announced by government to revolutionise the current Apprenticeship system - but warned that horticultural and landscaping employers need to put themselves in the driving seat of any changes.

Lantra, which represents businesses in environmental and land-based industries, says it is vital that employers are actively involved in steering the new Apprenticeships, which could offer on-the-job training in horticulture and landscaping to candidates from the age of 14.

"We welcome the government's endorsement of the need for work-based training within our industries and the greater emphasis on skills for new entrants of all ages," said Mike Smith, director of research and development at Lantra.

"This major new drive should provide our employers with the highly skilled people they need."

"But employers need to be at the heart of the design and implementation of these reforms. They have first hand experience of the skills the production horticulture and landscaping industries need, so it is vital that they are consulted on their current and future requirements as part of this process."

The environmental and land-based employers and industry representatives that

Lantra works with have long stressed the need to move away from a "one size fits all" approach to education and training for all sectors.

"94 per cent of our sector's businesses employ less than five people, so the needs of our employers are often quite different to those of much larger companies," said Mike. "The reforms announced last week should ensure that the new system is more flexible and takes into account the diverse needs of different industries."

The reforms will lead to:

* brand new Young Apprenticeships for 14-16 year olds - an opportunity for motivated pupils to spend up to two days a week in the workplace learning a trade

* a Pre-Apprenticeship - this will be based around the Entry to Employment programme for young people that have potential, but are not yet ready or able to enter an Apprenticeship

* Apprenticeships at level 2 (replacing the Foundation Modern Apprenticeship)

* Advanced Apprenticeships (equal to 2 good A Levels or a Level 3 qualification, and replacing the Advanced Modern Apprenticeship)

* the opening up of Apprenticeships to adults by scrapping the arbitrary 25 year old age limit

For more information on the Apprenticeship reforms, see the Department for

Education and Skills (DfES) website, www.dfes.gov.uk.