Farming: Dave Roberts takes lead at Lantra

Professor Dave Roberts, who recently retired as head of the Agriculture and Business Management Department at SRUC has been appointed new chair of the rural training organisation Lantra Scotland.

As the new national chair for Lantra in Scotland, he will represent the interests of the country’s land-based, aquaculture and environmental industries at a UK board level, while providing support for staff based in Scotland.

“I’ve been part of the sector for over 40 years and have a particular interest in ensuring that we have a well-trained workforce, so I’m delighted to be taking up this position with Lantra in Scotland,” he said.

He said that land-based and aquaculture industries in rural areas were vital to the Scottish economy, making a substantial contribution to food, timber, energy production and tourism.

“It’s clear that Lantra Scotland has a crucial role to play here, ensuring that qualifications and training courses reflect the needs of businesses and their staff.

“We need to have up-to-date courses, tailored to the technical and practical needs of employees and employers, while looking at related areas, like health and safety and environmental impact. We also need knowledgeable and practical instructors who understand how training courses fit into the wider aspects of a people’s jobs too.”

He said that he had been very impressed by the work that Lantra had been doing in Scotland by way of making high quality training available to everyone and thanked his predecessor, Henry Graham, for doing such a fantastic job in the role over recent years.