Skills

These distinct food industry clusters include highly focused academic and research provision and industry led education courses for all levels and experience. 

Greater Lincolnshire provides access to a large, skilled and cost-competitive agrifood workforce, enabling easier recruitment, faster project delivery and improved productivity for investing businesses. 

The UK Food Valley works with partners to transform the agri-food sector by focusing on automation, robotics, and high-level technical skills to address labour shortages and boost productivity. Key opportunities include training in AI, data analytics, and sustainable food production and automation.  The UKFV also works with partners to address  outdated perceptions of careers in the  agrifood industry, so that young people and career changers are made aware of the industry’s fantastic career paths and need for new skills. 

In food production, food and seafood manufacturing, and a range of other agrifood and related classifications, Greater Lincolnshire provides businesses with access to a workforce that is outstanding in the UK in terms of size, concentration and specialisation. 

Greater Lincolnshire’s established workforce is complemented by further and higher educational institutions focused on meeting the specialised skills and qualifications requirements of the area’s agrifood businesses.  Key providers include: 

The National Centre for Food Manufacturing (NCFM) is a UK leading provider of training and business support to the food industry, with a campus in Holbeach and a site in Grimsby to serve the major food clusters in Greater Lincolnshire.  With a wide portfolio of courses, from apprenticeships to post graduate training and industry short courses, NCFM can meet all your skills needs 

Riseholme College has a new campus just north of Lincoln, and provides courses from entry level to degree level.  It specialises in precision agriculture and works with industry as well as students to meet future skills needs driven the increase in technology in the industry. 

Other Colleges, including Boston and the Tec Partnership provide specialist courses for the agrifood sector, alongside private providers including CATCH and the Modal Centre which support the Humber industrial cluster and posts sector respectively.  Together with NCFM these providers can meet every need in the food chain, from food quality and safety through automation to food chain logistics and the cool chain. 

The Lincoln Institute for AgriFood Technology (LIAT) which offers a wide range of postgraduate (MSc and PHD courses) in agrifood technology, including the world’s first Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in agri-robotics and a CDT in AI or agritech, which together have 110 PhD students.  LIAT also delivers about 25% of UK BASIS training for agronomists. 

From specialised automation university teams, to the Careers Hub which matches businesses with schools, and by connecting businesses with policy makers and education providers, we are creating the right conditions for future growth and a building a talent pipeline for the right skills and roles for the future of the industry.   

Greater Lincolnshire is also home to Europe’s largest Agri-food Tech automation and robotics cluster and to businesses investing in automation, creating very highly skilled jobs, benefitting industry, and making the food chain an appealing career choice.