In This Issue
Six days to go until Cultivating Retail
The Flowerbowl Story - Guy Topping, Barton Grange Group
Planet, People, Profit – three Ps of sustainability
Deco-Pak’s Craig Hall remembers Greenfingers on his wedding day
Best Family Business Award for Hillmount Ards
Christmas sales race ahead of last year
HTA says £30k salary threshold for overseas workers will inhibit expansion for growers
Netherlands auction house to enforce sustainability standards
FUNdraising dinner honours amazing Greenfingers supporters
Your chance to meet wholesalers and distributors from Sweden, Switzerland and Iceland
Added-value plants will vie for honours at IPM Essen 2020
Vintage year for award-winning Cornish garden
Spring Fair makes it easier to source quality overseas products
Bradford garden centre's half term charity planting event raised almost £300
Langlands gets all Pudsey for Children in Need
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
Christmas houseplants get off to a great start
New Plant Tagging System
High volume garden products drive sales
Go far with a tree production travel scholarship
More peat-free growing media in the Top 10
Best half term week for Christmas ever!
Garden Press Event stand space selling out fast
The best of last week's
Notcutts Chairman Nicky Dulieu is stepping down
New Botanica Houseplant department at Sunshine Garden Centre
AMES UK's approach to decorative planters opens up appeal top wider market
John Hinde's new company brings unique German home and leisure range to UK
Squire's rolls out brand and image refresh across group's 15 centres
Garden Centre Photo Tours
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HTA says £30k salary threshold for overseas workers will inhibit expansion for growers

Growers are concerned that proposals around future foreign labour requirements will hinder the expansion of the ornamental horticulture sector.

 

HTA has responded to the call from the Migratory Advisory Committee (MAC) for evidence on Salary Threshold and Points-Based System Commission. The MAC proposed that a £30,000 salary threshold is maintained for full time workers coming to work in the UK from abroad. The adoption of an Australian style points-based system would see applicants scored on factors such as education levels and language skills.

 

HTA says £30,000 is too high and will prohibit many skilled and experienced workers from joining the UK horticultural workforce and has called for the MAC to review the Shortage Occupation List, as horticulture is not currently included as an exemption. Supervisory and technical roles are the hardest to fill in the area of plant production, so a wider approach is needed to get work experience and acquired knowledge recognised alongside any formal qualifications.

 

 

The recently published 2019 Ornamental Horticulture Skills Survey* says the sector is facing a critical skills challenge, with the difficulty of finding staff with the right skills and qualifications the most commonly reported issue.  It says the proposals in their current form are likely to exacerbate the situation further.

 

HTA is highlighting the industry’s desire to expand, particularly in the area of import substitution, but cites lack of access to labour is seen as a barrier requiring Government help.

 

Martin Emmett, chair of the HTA Ornamentals Committee said: “Labour shortages of both seasonal and full-time workers are a key concern for the horticulture industry, particularly at a time when there is a need and desire for expansion. Access to a skilled and experienced labour force is critical and this is why the proposed salary threshold needs to be lowered so that knowledgeable and skilled workers from abroad can continue to contribute to UK horticulture.”

 

He adds, “The ornamental horticulture sector makes a significant contribution to the UK economy with ornamental plants worth £1.35 billion produced and sold in the UK during 2017. Importantly, it also contributes to the environment, helping to mitigate the causes of climate change. The growth of the sector is dependent on having a sufficient workforce to allow for its expansion to enable these wider benefits to be fully realised.”

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