The aim of TIAH (The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture) is to be the home of skills and careers support for those working in agriculture and horticulture, providing tailored online learning and practical professional tools to help develop skills and lifelong learning to improve farm productivity and profitability.
The institute has been set up with the ambition of positioning agriculture and horticulture as a dynamic industry, attracting and retaining talent from a wide range of backgrounds, investing in people to improve productivity, staff engagement and retention.
TIAH is supported by a consultation group which includes the NFU, AHDB, farmers, employers, industry leaders, plus further and higher education specialists. It aims to act as an umbrella, co-ordinating existing skills and training provisions across England, bringing everything into one, accessible place.
TIAH will provide a valuable online space where users have access to individual profiles, logging both formal and informal training and qualifications.
A bespoke service
Highlights of the services TIAH provides include:
- A learning hub where users have access to a variety of resources, with topics ranging from biosecurity to regenerative agriculture to help develop their skills.
- A capability framework and learning record to help users to document and evidence their skills and also identify gaps in skills to facilitate continued professional development.
- New entrants into the industry are able to research the career path they wish to take through job profiles, which include details of the responsibilities, personal qualities, skills and requirements, salary and future career opportunities.
It also provides access to HR and personnel development support to small and medium-sized businesses across the industry, as well as collating reliable data on the labour market, workforce requirements and skills shortages.
Join TIAH
There are three levels of TIAH membership:
Student/new entrant – membership for students and new entrants is free giving access to TIAH’s learning resources, tools templates and Learning Hub.
Professional farmer or grower – membership for individual farmers and growers is £12 per month/ £144 per year and gives access to:
- Learning resources supporting training relevant to individual training needs and career goals.
- Training map to help identify training providers local to individual members.
- CPD record to log training and CPD in one handy place.
- Job profiles to help business operators identify skills gaps in teams.
- Time saving tools bring together useful resources and advice in easy to access packages.
Group membership – membership for larger agriculture and horticulture businesses to help meet compliance requirements, enhance workforce skills, support long-term resilience and sustainability and make members employers of choice.
Group membership allows farm businesses to set learning goals for staff and the ability to track progress.
TIAH will act as a co-ordinating force, ensuring that up to date knowledge of policy and regulations, as well as new and innovative farming and growing practices are carried out across the industry.
NFU support
The NFU has been involved with the development of TIAH since the beginning and is currently represented on the TIAH board by NFU Vice President Rachel Hallos in her capacity as the NFU’s officeholder for skills.
Find out more at: tiah.org/home.
