Countryside & Environment

Management of the countryside in a sustainable and integrated way has never been more important than it is today. Many of the valuable traditional skills remain, but future managers of habitats and wildlife will need the knowledge and skills of new technologies and the latest research for a more modern approach to a complex job. The College's farms and estates cover over 1,000 hectares across four sites, providing excellent practical facilities for our Countryside and Environment students. Whether students are based in York or Newton Rigg, they all have full access to these facilities. Our lecturers have vast knowledge of their subject areas and have strong connections to the industry which is great for helping students find work experience during their studies.

Industry Fact File

The environmental and land based industries are worth almost £9 billion per year and employ 720,000 people in a huge range of jobs that require a vast array of skills. Lantra, the Skills Council for this sector, estimates that in the next ten years these industries will need an additional 215,000 workers. They identify new opportunities due to major challenges such as increasing food production to become more selfsufficient, finding greener alternatives to carbon fuels and combating climate change as well as caring for the environment at a practical local level. Gamekeeping is a particular growth sector with a range of career opportunities across the UK with potential employment for suitable applicants across a range of levels and abilities from Level 1 through to Level 6 degree students. Lantra reports, 15,900 businesses with 31,000 employees work within the game and wildlife industry. At managerial level current skills gaps include management and planning, ICT and communications as well as sector specific skills which are all addressed by our degree programmes. As many people are running their own businesses, there is huge scope for budding entrepreneurs.

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