Investing in the skills and professionalism of their staff can help livestock businesses to ensure they meet the growing customer demand for quality and transparency.

As the horse meat crisis unfolds the key concern for farmers and suppliers who are adhering to current legislation is how can we differentiate our products to rebuild trust? The shift in consumer confidence can already be seen, with small-scale butchers witnessing a 30% uplift in sales, as shoppers seek out locally sourced high quality meat (Q Guild, 2013). Anecdotal evidence suggests that demand for fresh meat has remained strong with growing demand for British beef (Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, 2013).

Clearly it is not all doom and gloom. The crisis presents an opportunity for livestock businesses, explains Madge Moore, Lantra’s National Director for England:“The businesses which can evidence the skills and professionalism of their staff can use this to reassure customers that their products exceed regulatory requirements and conform to high standards.”

Being proactive is essential urges Madge, before adding: “Simple business tools are available which can help businesses to ensure that their staff are developed and trained in accordance with the latest best practice in terms of legislation and technical developments.”

Lantra’s Professional Skills Framework is a simple online tool which allows businesses to download inspection requirement checklists and allocate responsibilities to staff members in relation to particular aspects of the inspection criteria. “A key feature of the tool is the ability to allocate job roles to individuals, be those industry specific jobs or bespoke jobs, highlighting which roles which require a certificate of competence or require training in accordance with regulation,” explains Madge.

As Agricultural Consultant with Harvey Hughes Ltd, Andrew Nicholas has been one of 300 agriculture businesses involved in piloting the online business tool and helping to refine it to meet the needs of employers: “The Professional Skills Framework addresses the need for businesses to identify skill requirements and ensure staff are developed and trained in line with changing regulatory and technical developments. This will undoubtedly have economic benefit to both businesses and staff” he explains.

Lantra’s Professional Skills Framework can help farm businesses to focus on the skills needed to differentiate their business on the professionalism of their staff and the quality of their produce, whether that is livestock or crops. By identifying gaps in learning and competence it can help employers build the professional standards, leadership and management skills needed to become a thriving business.

Lantra is currently working with trade associations and their members across 15 sectors to develop tailored solutions to support professionalism and skills development.