Into work: a study of young people entering employment in the agricultural industry. Final report on the survey of the recruitment, training and retention of young workers in agriculture
Jones, G.E.; Peberdy, M.A.
Research Report, Agricultural Training Board (RP. 12): 136
1979
Document Number: 217332
Three main questions are considered: (1) why young people enter the farming industry and how their careers progress during the first 3 - 4 years after entry; (2) why some new entrants take agricultural training and further education while so many others do not; and (3) why some leave farming or withdraw from agricultural apprenticeship within a few years of entry. The study arose out of the industry's concern in the early 1970s that insufficient young workers of the right calibre were entering farming, and that too many, possibly in the region of half, were leaving before the age of twenty. The Board was also concerned that a third of the young people entering the Apprenticeship Scheme were failing to complete their three year apprenticeship, and that less than half of those taking part were obtaining the Board's Craftsman Certificate. The theoretical approach adopted is the examination of individual decision-making. The empirical aspect consists of a longitudinal survey of almost 800 school-leavers in England and Wales from the time of entry to agriculture in 1974 to the summer of 1978. The analysis can be viewed from two perspectives; that of the new entrant and that of the agricultural industry. Results in Part I summarize the findings discussed in three of the interim reports; Part II outlines how the careers of the sampled young workers had progressed during the four year period; Part III attempts to explain the nature of commitment to the industry and the reasons for withdrawal from the Scheme; and Part IV looks in more detail at the careers of those who completed apprenticeship and those outside the Scheme who continued to work on the land. The Conclusion draws together the findings and examines the implications for the Agricultural Training Board and the industry. Finally, a number of recommendations are made relating to the recruitment and selection of new entrants to training and further education, and to the organization of the current Apprenticeship Scheme. For the Board, these include running its Apprenticeship Scheme in conjunction with a less formal system of craft skills training, training employers to be more carefully screened and improving on-farm monitoring of apprentices. For the industry, that Agricultural Counselling Committees consisting of representatives of the agricultural colleges, careers services, Training Board and farmers' and farm workers' organizations be established in each county to advise young workers on the appropriate means of entry to the industry. The wages Board has recommended that the statutory wage differential between craftsmen and ordinary worker should be not less than 20-25%.