Tough times on the high street offers more skills to agriculture, says headhunter

Britains agribusiness can benefit from a broader range of skills and expertise coming on the market as other sectors face recession and cut backs, according to Brian Hutchison, director of recruitment specialists Hunter Chase Consultants.

Cut backs in recession-hit industries means there is a new diversity of talent that the agribusiness sector should be thinking about seriously, says Mr Hutchison.

The reduction in trained graduates over the past decade, coupled with the numbers who left the industry, has led to a relatively small pool of candidates with agricultural backgrounds for some leading jobs. Therefore, to meet the growing demand in the food and farming industries, employers need to look again at what really matters when recruiting.

Currently, there are excellent people on the job market who can bring a fresh approach to established agricultural businesses.  Recent successful Hunter Chase placements have been drawn from areas such as pharmaceuticals, grocery and fmcg.

We are meeting candidates in sales, marketing, production and administration who tick all the boxes, apart from being rooted in agriculture. However, their expertise means they are able to fast track and with a fresh approach they soon make a serious contribution, says Mr Hutchison.