About Lantra
Lantra is the Sector Skills Council for the environmental and land-based industries, licensed by the UK Government as one of 25 Sector Skills Councils.
Its role is to identify and tackle skills gaps across the whole of the United Kingdom for the following industries: land-management and production, animal health and welfare, and environmental industries.
Lantra helps individuals working in the sector to have the right skills and knowledge to carry out their jobs safely and effectively and for businesses to have a workforce that can enhance productivity and performance.
Download details of who's who at Lantra
Rural Development Programme for England
The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is a funding scheme for land-based businesses (farmers, growers, foresters, and primary processors), rural tourism organisations and other small rural businesses. All RDPE funds are controlled by your Regional Development Agency and they used research information to decide on the funding priorities for their own regions.
The RPDE aims to safeguard and enhance our countryside, to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of our rural businesses, and help communities to thrive.
The programme which runs until 2013, is funded jointly by the EU through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the UK Government.
The RDPE will be delivered through a number of activities including Small Capital Grant Schemes, Strategic Investment Grants and Action Plans.
The Skills part of the RDPE funding is managed for six of the nine English regions by Lantra called LandSkills.
Visit our
funding page to find out further information about RDPE funding available in your region.
The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is a funding scheme for land-based businesses (farmers, growers, foresters, and primary processors), rural tourism organisations and other small rural businesses.
The RPDE aims to safeguard and enhance our countryside, to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of our rural businesses, and help communities to thrive.
LandSkills is part of the Rural Development Programme for England and is managed or co-ordinated by Lantra on behalf of the Regional Development Agencies in the North East, Yorkshire and Humber, South East, East of England, East Midlands and West Midlands.
The LandSkills projects can fund skills development, knowledge transfer and training. A sample of possible activities is listed here:
- Seminars
- Business clubs
- Workshops and farm demonstrations
- Support and mentoring
- Technical and management information
Examples of the YFC training that could be developed from these activities is:
- Practical and technical livestock, crop and non-food crop husbandry
- Management and business, including collaboration
- Animal health and welfare
- Study tours
- Food chain and retailing (eg farm shops)
If you are interesting in taking part in training supported by LandSkills or have an idea for a training course, please speak to your region's programme manager on the contacts map.
Women and Work
The Women and Work programme offers funding towards training to help women throughout England progress within jobs in the environmental and land-based industries, where women are significantly under-represented.
It is widely recognised that very few women work in the eligible industries so by supporting 500 women to advance their careers, the Women and Work programme aims to improve the gender balance.
Women and Work supports women in England to develop a personal training and career development plan. Training will be aimed towards supervisory or management positions and those areas requiring technical or leadership skills.
Who is eligible?
To be eligible for funded training you should be employed in a full-time or part-time position or be a business partner within one of the following industries. Unfortunately, self-employed women are not eligible to participate this year.
- agriculture
- environmental conservation
- fencing
- game and wildlife
- horticulture, landscaping and sports turf
- production horticulture
- land-based engineering
- trees and timber
How does it work?
Each employer will receive a net £300-400 cash grant per participant towards eligible approved training costs when there has been a minimum training spend of £600-650 per participant.
Business Link and county/local council
Business Link operates in all regions and acts as a one stop shop for business advice on grants, business clubs, planning applications, training workshops, and many other things. It has specialist advisers who you can deal with to help provide solutions to your business needs.
County and local councils
County councils have several budgets that help pay for key things in your county/local town/borough. There are youth budgets, business expansion loans/grants and other sorts of assistance that may be of use to your YFC or business. Each council is different so contact yours and see what they can do for you.
