Gamekeeping apprenticeships under scrutiny by Lantra

The review will help to keep apprenticeships up to date

By Selena Masson

Friday, 22 January 2010

Lantra is looking for feedback from the shooting industry on exisiting game and wildlife management apprenticeships

Game and wildlife management apprenticeships in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are set to change as a result of a consultation that closes today.

Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for environmental and land-based industries, issued the consultation to discover what the shooting industry needs from apprenticeships. Lantra plans to have the revised and updated apprenticeships ready for August.

Lantra’s Jo-Anne Bryan told Shooting Times: “Apprenticeships can help to ensure the sector’s workforce has the skills it needs to remain competitive. The fact that apprenticeships provide on-the-job training means employers can ensure their workforce is up to the challenge now, and in the future.”

Terry Stothard, headkeeper at Blankney estates, in Lincoln, employs apprentice Ben Garrick. He said the review would help keep apprenticeships up to date: “When I started there were no training courses, you just learned the job as you went along. Having Ben as an apprentice allows him to split his time between Bishop Burton College and the estate, where his work is providing valuable experience to complement his studies.”

The rest of this article appears in 20th January issue of Shooting Times.