Addressing the 2022 CLA Rural Business Conference (Overcoming Barriers to Business Success) in London last week, the Institute’s Executive Director, Louise Simpson, stressed the challenges the forestry and arboriculture sector are facing today. Louise spoke on what more we can do to upskill our rural workforce and the skills needed for the future. Speaking to delegates from across the rural sector, Louise highlighted the exciting projects the Institute are working on to address the skills crisis.
Opening the conference, CLA President and National Conference 23 speaker, Mark Tufnell, said:
“We have held the government’s feet to the fire, communicated robustly and negotiated hard, but we have done so in a way that never loses sight of the end goal: That being paid for environmental delivery is the right thing to do. That improving our soils and boosting nature is also the right thing. There is no time to lose. It is time to remove the obstacles to business success. It is time, once and for all, to unlock the potential of the whole rural economy.”
Other speakers included The Rt. Hon. Dr Thérèse Coffey MP (Secretary of State for Defra), The Rt. Hon. Sir Ed Davy MP (Leader of the Liberal Democrats), Professor Sally Shortall (Duke of Northumberland Professor of Rural Economy at the University of Newcastle) and Will Mathias (CGJ Mathias & Son). To read Dr Thérèse Coffey’s full speech, visit this page.
