Labour supplier, produce body and leading retailer join forces to give young apprentices hands-on horticulture experience
Sainsbury’s, the British Growers Association (BGA) and Staffline Agriculture have joined together to develop a bespoke intermediate apprenticeship that matches enthusiastic young people within Sainsbury’s diverse supplier base in the horticulture industry.
Through the scheme, apprentices will gain hands-on practical experience within the retailer’s farmer and grower base, working on real issues that face horticulture supply chains throughout the UK.
Rob Honeysett, horticulture manager at Sainsbury’s, said: “With our long history of supporting British farmers we’re always looking for ways to drive the future of British farming. I’m pleased to announce that there are a number of vacancies now being advertised on the National Apprenticeship Services (NAS) website for opportunities at various farms in Lincoln, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Kent, Hampshire, Shropshire and West Sussex.
“We’ll be carrying out the initial recruitment and selection process leading onto interviews for successful shortlisted applicants in July.”
Jack Ward, BGA chief executive, said: “Securing the next generation of new entrants is vitally important. The fresh produce industry has a demanding and ambitious agenda involving a wide range of innovation and technological developments. Getting more people into the industry is crucial to the future success of the sector.”
Laura Savage, operations manager for Staffline Agriculture, added: “We are confident that the vacancies will attract a lot of interest due to the variety of apprenticeship roles available, and, in all cases, the remuneration being over and above the recommended apprenticeship wage and in some roles above the National Minimum Wage too.
“It’s a golden opportunity for people who are interested in starting a career in the agriculture and horticulture industries but don’t know where to begin. It’s tremendously exciting to be working with British Growers Association and Sainsbury’s growers in developing the programme and delivering the pilot scheme this year.”
The farms employing the apprentices are major suppliers of fresh produce to Sainsbury’s including: Cornerways Nurseries; Vitacress Limited; North Bank Growers; Allpress Farms Limited; Produce World Group; Taylorgrown Limited; Strawson Limited; New Farm Produce Limited; F W Mansfield & Son; J B Shropshire & Sons (G’s); AC Goatham and Thakeham Mushrooms.