Agriculture is covered by Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for the environmental and land-based sector which represents 17 industries categorised by:

• land management and production
• animal health and welfare
• environmental industries

There are approximately 1 million employees in the sector, accounting for 3.4% of total employment in the UK, plus a further 500,000 volunteers. 

The sector faces a continuing decline in total employment, with a further 15% of jobs expected to be lost over the next 10 years.  However, a net requirement of 97,400 employees will be needed across all occupations.

The majority of the workforce are in skilled trades (49%), whilst 24% are employed in the elementary professions.  Professionals, associate professionals, sales and customer service occupations account for 2.8% of the total workforce.  There is a decline in total employment forecast, which will be amongst those in elementary occupations.

The South West, Scotland and the South East have the largest workforces in the sector, and there are significant variations in industry employment across the regions.  Education and training provision for the sector is also very varied.

The workforce is predominantly male (69% compared to 55% in the workforce nationally).  Only 0.7% of the workforce is from minority ethnic groups, compared to 5% nationally.  Whilst the average age of the sector is 42 years (compared to 39 years in the economy as a whole), some industries have a much younger profile.

Across England, higher education institutions offer a wide range of courses at degree, foundation degree and HNC/HND level.  Degree course enrolments across the industries vary significantly. 

The increasing need to upskill the workforce means there is an increasing demand by employers for people with qualifications and training at Levels 3 and 4.

There is an apparent lack of research on the sector.