A new education centre developed to inspire and train the next generation of UK salad and vegetable growers was officially opened by Roger Gough, leader of Kent County Council today (5th June 2024).
The Thanet Earth Centre of Excellence @ Hadlow College based in Tonbridge, Kent, is the UK’s first Centre of Excellence in glasshouse growing. It will connect the higher education institute with the horticulture sector and promises to bring a new generation of greenhouse technical specialists to the industry, protecting the future of UK-grown fresh produce.
Based at Hadlow’s state-of-the-art glasshouse, horticultural students will benefit from working directly with Thanet Earth, the UK’s largest glasshouse salad supplier, to develop their skills and grow tomatoes in a commercial crop environment.
The partnership will deliver a unique hands-on educational support programme, with direct access to leading employers across the fresh produce supply chain. Benefits will include:
- Funding for specialist teaching staff
- Industry visits
- Bespoke seminars
- Career mentoring
The Centre of Excellence was opened during British Tomato Week, in response to concerns about the lack of skilled workers in the sector.
Protecting the UK’s food security
The 2024 UK Food Security Index1, recently published by the UK Government, identified that only 17% of fruit and 55% of vegetables were grown domestically in the UK. These two food groups are the most reliant on imports, which the report recognises as a risk to national food security.
1 UK Food Security Index 2024, published 14th May 2024 at the Food and Farming Summit UK Food Security Index 2024 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Rob James, Technical Director, Thanet Earth, said: “Food security in the UK depends on inspiring the next generation of talent into our industry. We rely on skilled and passionate people to drive innovation and help to make delicious and nutritious UK-grown fresh produce available in your local food stores.
“There are incredible careers available across the fresh produce supply chain. Collaboration between education and industry is critical to changing perceptions of the sector and ensuring young people develop relevant, practical, and employable skills.”
Alan Harvey, Head of Horticulture, Hadlow College, said: “This partnership offers our students a unique education experience. The close relationship between our college and the commercial
horticultural sector means our students can experience the latest commercial growing techniques in our cutting-edge glasshouse facilities. Not only does this provide depth and enrichment to their education, but it will also enable our students to graduate with skills and experience that will be very attractive to employers.”
Dr Nikki Harrison, Director for Growing Kent & Medway, a partner in the initiative, said: “Having the UK’s first Centre of Excellence here in Kent will ensure we have the pipeline of new talent and skills required to keep our region at the forefront of horticultural innovation.
“Linking industry with education ensures that the training provided reflects the latest crop production techniques and knowledge available in modern growing practices. We hope this is the first of many collaborations between industry and further education to address the critical skills shortage our industry faces.”
For further information about the Thanet Earth Centre of Excellence @ Hadlow College, please visit hadlow.ac.uk/about-us/hadlow-college-projects
Notes to Editor
Plugging labour gaps in the food supply chain
The ‘Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain’ report2 2023, recommended that the provision of the next generation of entrants to the food supply chain must be seen as a matter of national importance. The report identified a lack of collaboration between government, industry, and education providers contributing to a mismatch between workforce needs and available training. The UK Government has published its response to the report, which will address the attractiveness of the sector, skills supply and food career curriculum delivery3.
2 Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain (publishing.service.gov.uk)
3 Independent review into labour shortages in the food supply chain: government response – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
4 Defra Official Statistics: Agricultural facts: South East (inc. London) region
5 TIAH Labour and skills in the horticulture and agriculture sectors in England, 2023: Summary report
Glasshouse cropping statistics
Glasshouse crops covered 1,100 hectares in England in 2023, with 31% of that production area located in the South East. Horticultural businesses accounts for 6.3% of the farms in the South East, compared to only 3.7% in the UK4.
Skills gaps
In a survey5 by The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture of 681 farms, 37% of respondents stated that they were either not very confident or not at all confident that they will be able to find
and retain the staff who have the relevant skills to their business in the coming year, with only 15% feeling very confident.
For press enquiries, please contact:
– Claire Shearwood Burton, Hadlow College: claireshearwood-burton@northkent.ac.uk
– Charlotte Cooke, Thanet Earth: press@thanetearth.com
– Lauren Colagiovanni, Growing Kent & Medway: lauren.colagiovanni@niab.com
British Tomato Fortnight is an initiative by the Tomato Growers’ Association, which runs from 27 May until 9 June 2024.
Sponsors
The Thanet Earth Centre of Excellence @ Hadlow College is sponsored by Cambridge HOK, Grodan, Syngenta, BioBest, Rijk Zwaan, Enza Zaden, Plant Raisers, Agrovista, Priva, Hazera, FareShare
About Hadlow College
Hadlow College is Kent’s only rural and land-based college. It is set in the beautiful surroundings of a large managed estate that includes over 265 acres of prime arable land, woodland, sports facilities, natural river, three commercial farms, established show gardens and horticultural glasshouses, lakes and other natural habitats.
The College is fully focussed on developing an efficient, economic, healthy and sustainable farming industry, and has many facilities that showcase the latest technology such as a ‘concept orchard and vineyard’ which features automated AI management systems, innovative crop diversity, cleaner storage and robotic fruit picking.
The College is part of North Kent College which was rated as ‘Good’, with an assessment of ‘Outstanding’ in Behaviours and Attitudes, at its most recent Ofsted grading in 2024.
Visit http://www.hadlow.ac.uk for more information.
About Thanet Earth
Making the most of the coastal setting and natural light in East Kent, Thanet Earth is a development of glasshouses near Birchington. Inside these immense glass structures, expert growers are producing speciality tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers for sale to the public through the UK’s multiple retailers.
Thanet Earth is the UK’s largest facility of its kind and has been growing protected salad crops since 2009.
The site currently has 6 glasshouses that produces around 400 million tomatoes, 30 million cucumbers and 24 million peppers each year. It has a very low carbon footprint. It harvests rainwater in vast reservoirs that have a capacity for 70 million gallons of water, utilises modern energy efficient LED lighting for growing areas, consumes HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) for all shunt vehicles, and has a solar network that can provide just under 1 megawatt of energy.
For more information, email press@thanetearth.com, https://www.thanetearth.com/
About Growing Kent & Medway
Growing Kent & Medway is a world-class research, innovation and enterprise cluster. It connects businesses in the region to support innovation and to establish the area as a world-leader in sustainable horticultural food and drink production.
The programme brings together innovative growers and processors, scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs to stimulate research, innovation and business growth. It invests in state-of-the-art infrastructure, collaborative research and innovation, and enterprise growth.
The programme is led by NIAB (the UK’s largest horticultural research and development centre in East Malling). Additional research and commercial partners include: University of Greenwich, University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University, Locate in Kent, APS Group, Berry Gardens, Chapel Down, Geku Automation, Gusbourne, RH Group, Smurfit Kappa, Thanet Earth, The Kent and Medway Economic Partnership, Worldwide Fruit.
@GrowingKent_Med