FES0147
Written evidence submitted by British Association of Landscape Industries
Formed in 1972, the British Association of Landscape Industries represents the interests of around 1800 member businesses. Members include landscape contractors, suppliers, garden designers, arboriculturists, training providers, students and other related professionals.
Of these, we support over 950 Accredited members. We inspire those businesses to be leaders of an environmentally, ethically and commercially sustainable landscape industry. Accredited members are vetted to ensure the highest standards of workmanship, skill and health and safety practices.
Our professionals carry out a range of landscaping works including garden design, landscape construction and grounds maintenance. They also carry out interior installation, landscape maintenance and the supply of quality landscaping materials.
The landscaping and environmental horticulture industries make a significant contribution to the UK economy. It is a contribution that is often underappreciated. BALI is a founding member of the Environmental Horticulture Group (EHG). The EHG brings together the UK’s landscaping, arboriculture, gardening and environmental horticulture sectors to champion the sector with Government. Since 2018 it has commissioned Oxford Economics to undertake research to quantify the impact that the sector has on the UK economy, communities and environment. The latest iteration was published in November 2024.
According to that research, the environmental horticulture and landscaping industry contributed an estimated £14.4 billion to UK GDP in 2023. The provision of landscape services contributed 59% of this direct GDP impact.
The UK’s environmental horticulture industry supported the employment of 378,000 people in 2023 – with some 235,000 workers helping to deliver landscape services across the UK. The environmental horticulture industry also generated almost £2.6 billion in tax revenues for the UK Exchequer in 2023 with landscaping contributing almost half of the industry’s direct tax contribution.
Landscaping and Environmental Horticulture also generates a broad range of social, health and wellbeing, and environmental benefits provided by gardens, gardening, green spaces and other horticultural activities.
Research undertaken in 2019 by Pye Tait for the British Association of Landscape Industries identified a growing skills and labour gap in the landscaping sector. Despite ongoing industry efforts to promote the attractive career opportunities in the sector, and its work to develop appropriate and accessible training programmes, this skills and labour gap remains. The industry faces a watershed moment in its workforce succession planning, skills needs and related growth opportunities.
This call for evidence is a welcome opportunity for us to set out what we believe is needed from government and the education sector to tackle the issues linked to these skills shortages and gaps.
Curriculum and qualifications in further education
The Landscaping industry greatly values the post 16 vocational curriculum. Many employers in the sector work closely with their local training providers to ensure the availability of industry appropriate training provision. There had been concerns at the previous government’s proposals to reform level 3 qualifications and defund vocational courses where there was a significant degree of duplication with incoming T Levels. We welcome this Government’s commitment to pause look again at these proposals.
We feel that there is a place for both T Levels and other vocational qualifications at level 3 in the skills framework. Both deserve support and continued funding. While both may achieve similar outcomes, methods of delivery and assessment will be different and will meet different learner needs. Many learners in our sector benefit from a more practical approach to teaching and assessment. This should continue to be available.
We have already seen Further Education (FE) colleges move away from offering traditional BTEC qualifications in response to the uncertainty generated by the proposals to defund these level 3 qualifications. This is regrettable given the value that the industry places on these important vocational routes to attainment.
We have in the past expressed our concern with the drive to develop T Levels as the main qualification option for students wishing to pursue a technical route into further education. We support the intention to balance the value attached to academic and vocational attainment at level 3. However, we believe that this requires a range of qualifications to be available and for a more fundamental re-evaluation of the worth of vocational qualifications. Many of the elements contained within T levels, and the requirement on examination-based assessment still focus on academic attainment. The work-based elements within the T-Level, while valuable, are also proving difficult to deliver in an industry dominated by SMEs and seasonal work.
In addition, horticulture courses see a high number of mature learners wanting to pursue a full-time course Level 3. The introduction of T levels, with its current restriction on availability to 16–18-year-olds, has reduced the options that colleges can offer. If existing level 3 qualifications are defunded following the paused review, then it is essential that we see a T Level equivalent for the over 19’s at the earliest opportunity.
We welcome the Government’s commitment to driving better standards in further education and ensuring the quality and consistency of provision and outcomes. The landscaping sector works closely with colleges and training providers and has developed a range of apprenticeships, vocational courses and short training interventions that meet the needs of industry.
T-Levels also retain the need for functional skills in maths and English. Employers within the landscaping industry understand the need for post-16 numeracy for literacy and numeracy skills. Indeed, many occupations within the sector require such skills. However, many entering the industry may not have formal qualifications in these areas but are able to apply those skills in a vocational environment. As a result, many providers have been able to incorporate a practical assessment of literacy and numeracy into vocational training. This is another area where the move to T Level may disadvantage some learners and could mean that they are denied attainment at Level 3.
We have cautiously welcomed recent announcements on the reform of apprenticeships. While we understand the drive to remove the need for functional skills achievement, the landscaping sector still attaches importance to practical, occupationally appropriate numeracy and literacy.
We would continue to support assessment of applied numeracy and literacy skills.
Delivering further education
We understand the constraints placed on Government when it comes to finding additional funding for further education.
Any strategy to tackle the attainment gap in further education must consider the pressures colleges face in the recruitment and retention of staff in meeting wage demands. The £300 million announced by the Chancellor in last year's Budget is a welcome addition to FE funding. However, it is unlikely to be sufficient to meet the many challenges facing FE Colleges when it is estimated that £250 million is needed to match the 5.5% pay rise given to schoolteachers.
There is further pressure in the landscaping and environmental horticulture sector as demand for employees is driving up wages making it challenging for colleges to compete. It is essential that colleges have the resource to offer competitive pay and benefits to attract and retain high-quality teaching staff in further education.
With the prospect that much of the £300 million being used to meet the challenge of rising salaries, there is little left to improve the quality of facilities and for capital investment. We have seen some landbased colleges which have been able to work with local funding partners and LSIP to develop and improve facilities, but this is a patchy picture. For courses where numbers of students may be relatively small, there is not always the support or opportunity to invest in facilities that are needed to reflect the advances in the industry. This often leaves employers having to provide additional training or development which would be better dealt with by colleges.
Modern, well-equipped facilities are essential for providing high-quality education and training. Investment in state-of-the-art equipment and technology can enhance the learning experience and better prepare students for the workforce.
Colleges delivering landscaping course will also have additional costs associated with access to industry-standard tools and materials for practical training. Hands-on experience with industry-standard tools and materials is crucial for students to develop the skills needed in the workforce. Ensuring access to these resources comes with additional costs for colleges but can enhance students’ employability and readiness for real-world challenges.
Skills and apprenticeships
The industry is working on several initiatives to resolve the skills shortage and narrow the skills gap. BALI’s GoLandscape careers initiative has been running for over 7 years and is committed to promoting the sector to new entrants as well as developing skills and training initiatives to raise competence of those already in the industry. BALI’s work within the Environmental Horticulture Group includes sitting on its Education Group and demonstrates our commitment to collaborative working. More recently, we have begun working with partners in the industry to develop collaborative approaches to attendance at careers and jobs fairs.
We would welcome the opportunity to support those advising young people on careers to better understand the career pathways and progression routes within the landscaping sector, including opportunities for advancement and specialisation. Clear career pathways can motivate students and provide a roadmap for their professional growth which will help to attract and retain talent within the industry.
The Landscaping Industry has a good track record of collaboration with the Further Education sector with many colleges working with Employers to ensure that college-based training meets the needs of industry. These strong partnerships provide students with real-world experience through internships, apprenticeships, and collaborative projects. This experience is
invaluable in preparing students for the workforce. These partnerships can also help bridge the skills gap by aligning training with industry needs.
Relationships with local government are less well established and as local and regional government become more responsible for the skills budgets in their areas, it will become more important for these relationships to develop. We would welcome initiatives that support employers in our sector to engage more effectively with local government and demonstrate the important role that landscaping and the wider environmental horticulture industries play in the economic, environmental and societal health of their regions.
Skills England must meet its commitment to ensure the skills system is clear and navigable for employers and delivers training that they need. The landscape industry has valued its working relationship with IfATE which has proven to be responsive to industry input through the Apprenticeship Trailblazer Groups. We hope that this positive partnership can be continued in our work with Skills England on the wider skills agenda.
The skills system is not always easy for employers and learners to navigate. The Apprenticeship system, for example, continues to confuse employers and learners. The Government website is off putting for employers and its search function is ineffective, making it difficult for learners to identify apprenticeship opportunities local to them.
We look forward to the potential of the new Growth and Skills levy being realised. Ensuring greater flexibility, easier to access funding and better alignment with industry needs will represent a significant shift in how businesses invest in their workforce.
The landscaping Industry has worked hard to develop appropriate and suitable apprenticeships for the sector. Apprenticeships in landscaping and arboriculture demonstrate good progression routes for individuals and are an important contribution to raising skills within the sector. We will be interested in seeing how new foundation apprenticeships fit into this structure.
Given the importance of apprenticeships to the industry and the wider skills agenda, we believe there is merit in direct Government funding for trailblazer groups. This will ensure the continuation of these valuable cross sector groups and offer the opportunity to broaden membership.
The ability of colleges and employers to provide work placements within vocational courses, particularly T-Levels, has proven difficult for a sector dominated by SMEs. We understand the need to provide quality and availability of work placements within vocational courses and we welcome recent government guidance on delivery of work placement published in January 2025. The opportunity for employers to share work placements could prove attractive to employers in the sector and we will watch with interest how this develops.
Skills England has a vital role to play in meeting the Government's industrial strategy and boosting economic growth.
Skills England has identified the need to move to a greener economy. This green economy will include technological solutions to improve the green credentials of many industries. However, Skills England must also recognise that the landscaping and environmental horticulture sectors – the original green careers – play a significant role in the greener economy.
Skills England identifies waste and energy efficient products as the two highest employment green jobs sectors in the “green jobs” - with around 139,000 and 116,000 full time equivalent jobs or 40% of total employment in green jobs in 2022. However, as noted earlier, Oxford Economics research suggests that some 235,000 people help to deliver landscape services across the UK.
This figure includes the official scope of the sector as represented in national statistics
(around 95,000 workers employed at registered landscaping firms), as well as those working
within landscape services firms but in non-landscaping occupations— such as administrators
and managers. A further 75,000 people also worked in the landscape services sector in 2023,
but who are “unregistered” in official business statistics, predominantly reflecting self-employed workers or sole traders. Lastly, we estimate that another 65,000 people worked in landscape focussed roles within other industries (“wider landscaping activities”) during 2023.
Landscaping activities carried out by these workers directly supported an estimated £8.5 billion contribution to UK GDP in 2023.
The landscaping industry is a significant player in the green jobs market and is working to improve biodiversity, mitigate the impact of climate changes, reduce urban heat effects, and improve the health and wellbeing of communities. Our businesses work across the country building and maintaining landscapes, grounds, gardens, and parks—whether on behalf of private households, businesses, or government.
With the growing emphasis on green jobs and the green economy, equipping students with knowledge and skills in sustainability will make them valuable assets to the industry. FE institutions in the sector are committed to delivering teaching on sustainable practices and environmental stewardship within the landscaping and environmental horticulture curricula. This includes teaching about biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and sustainable resource management.
Supporting young people, widening access, and narrowing the attainment gap
Many businesses in the landscaping industry are committed to creating a workplace where every individual can thrive, regardless of their background, ethnicity, or circumstances. The industry knows that embracing diversity and ensuring equality is vital to any initiative addressing the skills, performance and employment challenges it faces.
Ensuring sufficient funding and appropriate provision of mental health support and wellbeing initiatives for students in further education will help improve student outcomes and retention. Students at landbased colleges often face additional issues around travel time and costs of transport. Recognising these additional challenges with targeted funding would also help with retention of students.
Government should consider specific funding to allow FE and other training providers to tailor support and resources for students with SEND. This will help ensure they have equal opportunities to succeed in vocational education. Inclusivity in education ensures that all students, regardless of their abilities, can contribute to, and benefit from, the industry.
Conclusion
BALI and its members businesses are committed to skills development and greatly value the FE and Skills sector in England. Many of our professional contractor businesses work closely with local colleges and are involved in the development of apprenticeships and other vocational training.
We have identified challenges facing the FE and Skills sector including lecturer, tutor and assessor availability and funding.
Many landbased colleges face additional costs resulting from location and the need for expensive machinery and equipment which are essential to delivering high quality and relevant training.
We believe that the landscaping and environmental horticulture sectors are vital to the greener economy and that their contribution to employment, growth and climate change adaptation is underappreciated. We would welcome the opportunity to further develop our relationships with government at all levels to raise awareness of the contribution that our industry makes to local, regional and national economies.
We welcome the changes recently made to the Growth and Skills Levy Fund and hope that this leads to easier access to funding for small businesses. However, this must go hand in hand with changes to the apprenticeship website which in its current state does not function as well as it should for businesses or learners.
Finally, we look forward to working with Skills England and building on the good working relationship that we have developed with IfATE.
Thank you for reading this submission and we would, of course, be delighted to provide further oral evidence should the opportunity arise.
March 2025