New recruitment campaign targets next generation of talent

What is the ‘We Are Land-based Engineering’ campaign and what’s its significance to dealers?

TOWARDS THE END of last year, the three main advocates of land-based engineering in the UK, the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA), British Agricultural & Garden Machinery Association (BAGMA) and the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE), launched an all-encompassing campaign to promote landbased engineering to a wider audience and demographic. Hoping to showcase what is fantastic and totally remarkable about the industry, the campaign sets out to positively shine a light on what the sector has to offer, looking to attract a new generation of talent to become the next pool of enthusiastic and skilled technicians and engineers.

“Right from the beginning it was understood that we as a sector needed to extend our usual boundaries, we needed to reach out a whole lot further to some different demographics, different from those circles than those we are used to,” explained Ruth Bailey CEO AEA. “We realised our message and information needed to reach younger people, those in inner cities, those not from a farming background. We wanted to target those with an interest in engineering but, through a lack of awareness, were heading for the bus and truck depots and the garages that make up the automotive engineering sector.”

The ‘We Are Land-based Engineering’ campaign launched in December 2022 and is now gaining a huge amount of traction. For those of you who have not yet come across it yet, here is a brief re-cap of what it is about and its importance to the sector. Supported and sponsored by the AEA, BAGMA and IAgrE, under the umbrella of LE-TEC, the campaign is about providing schoolchildren, parents, and teachers with as much information as possible in regard to the educational routes into land-based engineering. In doing so, it highlights what a vibrant and rewarding career choice it can be at the same time. The aim is to show how interesting and varied a career in the sector can be, through its innovation, its technology, and the part it plays in the environment, but also that it is rewarding and progressive with qualifications and opportunities that would match any other career choice.

So what information is available as part of the campaign?

The main hub of information is held on the website. www.WeAreLandbased.Engineering. It tells the story of the different facets of the industry such as turfcare, agriculture, forestry, etc, and it then outlines the potential to study for qualifications and follow a career path that is varied and worthwhile. The website is sup ported with leaflets and brochures but is also powerfully reinforced by digital content and promotional videos on an accompanying YouTube channel. The latter of which is getting many 1000s of views.

The information focuses on the technicians themselves discussing their working environ ments, the skills they are learning, and the qualifications they are looking to attain. Many manufacturers and dealers have already been featured in the digital content.

The beauty of the campaign is it is a generic overview of industry. It gives some one on the outside looking in a clear picture of what the industry has to offer. Filmed by in-house resources on location and on premises, the campaign is completely owned and directed by the three organisations. Its aim is to provide information for schools, colleges, students, parents and employers alike, to use and to explore the world that is land-based engineering. It is meant to offer materials that can be used by the industry in actively seeking recruits and in promoting the profession.

Within the website there is a list of the qualifications, there’s a map of the colleges. Study options include T Levels, apprenticeships, and degree level routes, listing the types of modules and subjects to be learned. There is also a map to search by postcode for your local BAGMA dealer.

Get involved, become an ambassador of the campaign, join us on social media. As an industry, no-one plays a more important role than our dealer network in helping to attract the next generation of technicians and engineers. Not only are the dealers the direct employers of apprentices and newly qualified graduates, but they are also best placed to shout about the industry and its opportunities. And this is where we are asking dealers to get involved, become an ambassador of the campaign, join us on social media and help us spread the word by liking and sharing the ‘We Are Land-based Engineering’ posts. Above all we’d like you to come forward and open your doors to us to come and film your apprentices and university graduates, for them to tell their story, in their words, about why land-based engineering is one of the coolest career choices out there. And at the same time a little bit of promotional video for your own company doesn’t go amiss either.

The scope is never-ending, always looking for more.

In 2022 a number of such stories were created. The information so far has been provided by industry employers, educational bodies, teachers, students, parents, apprentices, and university graduates. The initial material has focused on those at school with an interest in an engineering career. If we can get to those students who are still mulling over their options and to those teachers who are looking to make their students aware of all opportunities, then the industry will reap the benefits in years to come. But the scope is never-ending.

As well as continuing to increase the digital content of the campaign, filming technicians, employers, and dealers, and creating more promotional videos, the intention is to extend to further groups with different demographics. The next phases lined up will include details about the options in the devolved nations, and we are delighted to have already attracted interest from across the borders, from both colleges and employers. We are also determined to ensure that as many schools in the country are briefed with the information, so their students receive the full array of options available to them and are not just exposed to the easiest routes to take, such as the path to automotive. But we are also looking to expand the campaign towards the career changers and those sectors who are maybe older, such as the ex-military contingent who are out there, looking for a place to use their learned skills and competencies. There is a great deal to do and we are looking for more.

We need to be as inclusive as possible in order that we capture anyone who is on the fence wondering “is it really for me?” or even those who have no awareness of our industry, just waiting for that one sentence from an apprentice or university graduate to convince them that this is “absolutely the career for me”.

If you require any campaign materials sending to you, please do not hesitate to contact LE-TEC. Please also visit the website www.wearelandbased.engineering and follow @WeAreLandbased on social media channels.