The University of Lincoln has responded to national concerns about the future of the UK’s food manufacture, farming and food security with the launch of two new degree programmes - BSc (Hons) Agriculture and Environmental Management and BSc (Hons) Food Manufacture.

The BSc (Hons) in Agriculture and Environmental Management has been devised following recent Lantra studies which identified a significant skills gap in the sector due to the ageing workforce and increased demands of technology. Some 60 per cent of the vacancies in agriculture in England are deemed hard to fill - twice the level found across all other sectors of the economy.

The aim of the programmes is to provide graduates with a well-grounded understanding of the fundamental sciences of plants, animals, soils and global processes.

David Stainton, principal lecturer, said: “National studies and our own investigations regionally have shown a need for highly skilled and technical graduates in agriculture. The impact of legislation, climate change and sustainability on food production, waste and resource management will drive the demand for technical and supervisory management-level graduates.

“Modern farming is a skilled operation that requires technical proficiency, business acumen and environmental awareness. Over the next 10 years the sector will need 60,000 new entrants and this means that there will be new opportunities for the development of a young, dynamic workforce.”

The new BSc in Food Manufacture is in response to the sector’s acute difficulties in securing employees with the higher level skills required to ensure future competitiveness. Fifty per cent of the sector’s workforce is over the age of 40 and one in four technologist posts are reported to be vacant due to the lack of skilled applicants.

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