DEAR EDITOR,

Lantra continues to provide qualifications and training to ensure high standards are maintained within the industry.

Lantra started life as the Agricultural Training Board, also known as ATB. In 1994, ATB ceased trading, which led to the formation of Lantra, a leading body for qualifications, training, and careers. 

Lantra’s qualifications and training are delivered by our network of established training centres across all parts of the UK and Ireland. The qualifications and training provide the vehicle you need to develop a career in the land-based industries, such as forestry and arboriculture, as well as keep established companies and employees up to date with their specialist skills. Training centres that deliver Lantra’s qualifications and training work with qualified instructors to deliver training, as well as working with assessors to deliver qualifications.

Lantra invests time into instructors and assessors that work with us to ensure that their skills for teaching and learning, as well as assessing, are kept up to date and meet the highest standards. This approach ensures that colleagues within the land-based industries learn best practices to keep themselves, their colleagues, and the public safe. 

Lantra has long been a trusted organisation to ensure high and respectable standards for training and qualifications. The organisation first started delivering qualifications, alongside training, in 2008. Since then we have been the one-stop shop for all the needs of the forestry and arboriculture industry. As mentioned, Lantra runs courses throughout the UK, as well as overseas – in places such as Asia, Hong Kong, Australia and Canada. 

Lantra develops its qualifications through proactive engagement with key stakeholders within the industry, ensuring we are always following best practice and respective legislation.

Despite many people within the forestry and arboriculture industry believing Lantra qualifications have an expiry date, this is false information. All qualifications obtained by an individual do not expire, therefore they remain valid throughout a person’s lifetime. However, Lantra is a responsible awarding body and we follow guidance set out by the Health and Safety Executive, which recommends everyone refresh their skills every three to five years. 

• three years is the recommendation for occasional users 
• five years is the recommendation for professionals 

To find out more about Lantra, please go to our website –     www.lantra.co.uk.

Regards,
Lantra

DEAR EDITOR,

I read the article ‘New forestry minister’s pledge’ in Forestry Journal’s August 2024 issue.

Regarding the 30,000 ha per year pledge, target, goal, ambition, call it what you want ... quite frankly, I can’t see this annual area of net new planting ever being achieved – and it is about time the industry told the government so!

Furthermore, what we don’t want is lots of small areas of broadleaved copses and spinneys, planted by farmers and then left to be ravaged by squirrels and deer.
Just consider the practical and economic costs of harvesting such small areas, should they ever get to a thinning/felling stage.

Do any of your readers think that 30,000 ha per year, year on year, is achievable?

How do independent people like me get the opportunity to engage with such government ministers to try to put some common sense into this extremely important issue? Or should we all just shrug our shoulders and dream on?

Kind regards,
Andy Chalmers, Melcourt Industries