Recruitment and diversity
This month our Careers feature focuses on the Aqua Agenda webinar, which addressed recruitment and diversity in aquaculture.
THE PANELLISTS
Liz Barron-Majerik
Liz Barron-Majerik is Scotland Director for Lantra, the organisation dedicated to promoting skills, training and career opportunities in the land-based, aquaculture and environmental sectors.
As Scotland Director, she leads on all the projects Lantra delivers in Scotland with and on behalf of its key stakeholders and works with Lantra colleagues to ensure the organisation is sharing its practice and learning from others.
Her background is in science and education, across a wide range of sectors and areas. Her academic background is in plant science and agronomy, but she is also a Chartered Forester, STEM Ambassador, and in 2011 received an MBE for her work in STEM Engagement (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
Jillian Couto-Phoenix
Jillian Couto-Phoenix is the former Head of Skills and Talent at the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), leading SAIC’s range of career development programmes. She has worked closely with aquaculture professionals, colleges and universities on skills initiatives as well as the development of SAIC’s support for internships, graduates and masters students.
Following a refocusing of SAIC’s activities, she has now been appointed as Head of Aquaculture at Lantra Scotland, a move which took effect after the date of the webinar.
She joined SAIC from the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), where she was a Programme Manager for the National Transition Training Fund (NTTF).
Donald Waring
Donald Waring is Head of Learning and Development with Mowi Scotland, part of the largest salmon farming group worldwide. He has been in that role from 2019 and, before that, was Head of Learning and Organisational Development with Arvato Financial Solutions.
Mowi Scotland has won awards for training and development, including at the Aquaculture Awards and the Highland Business Awards, and Donald was recognised in the Women in Scottish Aquaculture (WiSA) Awards last year as Ally of the Year.
Jeni Adamson
Jeni Adamson is Industry Engagement Manager with Seafood Scotland, the organisation dedicated to promoting Scotland’s seafood sector and encouraging development with the industry.
Her role is to support Seafood Scotland in strengthening relationships with key stakeholders across the entire supply chain of Scottish seafood, ensuring programmes and activities are relevant and helpful for all sectors of the industry.
Jeni joined Seafood Scotland after working with Lantra UK, in the role of Head of Careers, promoting opportunities for new entrants in the land-based, aquaculture and environmental sectors.
Her academic background is marine biology, and estuarine & coastal science.
The discussion was facilitated by Robert Outram, Editor, Fish Farmer
The latest in Fish Farmer’s Agenda webinar series addressed the question of recruitment and diversity in aquaculture.
We looked at how fish farming and seafood businesses can ensure they continue recruiting successfully in what can be a difficult market for employers looking for the right talent, and what is being done to encourage young people into this field.
We also examined how the industry could become more diverse and offer more opportunities for women and minorities.
Jillian Couto-Phoenix at the webinar
Our expert panel was made up of: Jillian Couto-Phoenix, representing SAIC (the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre); Donald Waring, Mowi; Jeni Adamson, Seafood Scotland; and Liz Barron-Majerik, Lantra (for details see box on the page opposite).
Jillian Couto-Phoenix explained that SAIC plays a key role in connecting industry’s research and development challenges with the academic expertise in universities.
SAIC’s activities have also included funding “soft skills” training, for example networking skills and how to develop new products and services, as well as hosting events where students can hear first-hand from industry professionals about the kind of roles they could be in when they finish their studies.
SAIC has run an internship programme for students, supported upskilling for those already within the sector and helped to set up and support WiSA (Women in Scottish Aquaculture), including WiSA’s mentoring programme and its annual awards (since the webinar took place it has been confirmed that Lantra will step in as lead supporter for WiSA).
For Mowi, Donald Waring said: “Equality and diversity are at the heart of what we do.”
He added that Mowi is a great supporter of WiSA and said: “Aquaculture, even today, is seen as a male-dominated industry.
“In the past five or six years we have recruited a lot of women into our ranks including some key positions at quite senior level. Aquaculture isn’t a men-only club, it’s for everybody.”
Mowi also offers flexible working benefits, so many key roles are not “nine to five”.
Mowi staff at Blar Mhor processing facility
Housing remained a major challenge when recruiting staff to some locations, however.
Jeni Adamson explained that Seafood Scotland is a member of the Scotland Food and Drink Partnership and the organisation’s Chief Executive, Donna Fordyce, is a member of the Partnership’s Skills Advisory Group.
Seafood Scotland also runs a “Seafood in Schools” programme reaching out to primary and secondary schools.
Adamson said: “This is focused on supporting children to learn about the species we have in Scottish waters and the health benefits of our delicious seafood and providing information about career opportunities and case studies of people in the industry.”
As Scotland Director for Lantra, Liz Barron-Majerik, said: “Aquaculture is one of the key industries within our sector, so it is important for us to help them to meet their skills needs.
“Aquaculture is different from many of the other industries within our sector; it tends to be large companies compared with other branches of agriculture like farming which tend to be micro-SMEs; but as for those industries, recruitment is a challenge.”
Among the initiatives Lantra runs or supports are the Aquaculture STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Ambassador programme and SeaStory, a joint initiative with Salmon Scotland and the not-for-profit organisation Daydream Believers, that takes pupils on a “deep dive” into the science and mythology of the ocean, with the aim of kindling interest and enthusiasm for the marine world.
Lantra also runs the ALBAS (Land Based and Aquaculture Skills) awards, which provide an opportunity to recognise the “best of the best”. Finalists are invited to be industry champions and are supported in their skills development.
Eleanor Lawrie, Mowi’s first full-time female deckhand on Ailsa Craig
Recruitment challenges
The panel discussed the challenges around recruitment in aquaculture. Jillian Couto-Phoenix commented: “It can be challenging for students to find their first jobs. There is a disconnect between workplaces and the education system.”
She added that diversity is “a multi-faceted challenge”. One issue is representation and this is why WiSA plays a key role.
Donald Waring said: “The biggest challenge is that we are competing with other companies in a very shallow talent pool. So one challenge is attracting talent and another is retaining that talent.
“Somewhere like Fort William and Lochaber, it is harder because there are more employers competing; it is less so in more rural areas.
“Attracting the young workforce is key. The industry has an ageing workforce with many due to retire in the next four or five years.”
Jeni Adamson commented: “We also have to focus on the seafood sector’s need to recruit people from beyond our shores. It might be that there are skills that don’t exist in the UK at the moment, or don’t exist in the right numbers, so we need something the UK government can support in supply chain roles that’s long term.
“That’s something we’re hearing a lot about in our industry.”
Liz Barron-Majerik suggested there may be an upside to the transferability of skills between sectors: “Aquaculture has the opportunity to present a really attractive package to somebody coming in from another sector.”
She warned, however: “The market will become much more competitive before it gets better.”
WiSA event
Benefits of diversity
The panel also addressed the question of what we mean when we talk about “diversity” in recruitment – and why is diversity a desirable thing for employers?
Jillian Couto-Phoenix said: “It has been shown that diversity is a competitive advantage… but aside from that it offers a positive working environment. Gains such as creating a great workplace culture will create better retention as well as improved wellbeing.
“Investing in a long-term inclusion programme with a clear strategy for talent retention could actually mean that you are creating an environment where you are nurturing your staff.”
As Liz Barron-Majerik put it: “It makes the company more interesting, too!”
Aquaculture can often be seen as a male-dominated industry. The panel discussed how that could change, and what is already being done to attract more women into these roles.
Jeni Adamson commented: “It is great to see that companies like Mowi are appointing more women to company boards, and in C suite roles.
“You need to SEE it to BE it. It may not seem accessible to you if you don’t see someone who looks like you, or talks like you, in those senior roles.
“Having good ambassadors for the industry is key and we have good people taking on this role in the sector. This is something we have put together for our Seafood in Schools initiative because we want to encourage more people to get involved. Also, case studies can show the careers people have forged – especially those from diverse backgrounds. They provide inspiration and encouragement for those coming into the industry or those who want to progress their careers.”
The panel agreed that it is important for the industry to be represented in schools and at careers events, whether in secondary, further or higher education.
Rosie Curtis, Fish Farm Manager, MacLean’s Nose
Industry and academia
One question, however, is whether there needs to be more opportunities to study aquaculture-specific qualifications, or do apprenticeships provide a better, practical way into the industry? One of the webinar attendees also asked whether those taking masters degrees in aquaculture in the UK are usually able to find a job in the industry.
Speaking about her time with SAIC, Jillian Couto-Phoenix said the organisation had developed a network to liaise with universities and its soft skills training helps students to meet early-career professionals in the sector and understand the roles to which their qualification could lead.
SAIC has also been working with industry and the education sector, to help ensure that degree courses are relevant to the world of work where that is appropriate.
She said: “There is not a direct connection between higher education and the industry at this moment in time. The world of work is changing very quickly and there are always new roles and new functions.”
Liz Barron-Majerik noted that the profile for people going into aquaculture is different from land-based agriculture. In aquaculture there are a greater proportion of career changers, and a lot of people become interested in fish farming later in life or when they return to the area having been away to work or study. The funding model for education, however, is generally set up with a focus on younger people going straight from school to university or further education.
She noted: “For aquaculture, apprenticeships have been giving a great return on investment.”
This, however, is not a solution for everyone, she warned. Most educational institutions are generally located quite far from the areas where fish farming companies have their operations. Also, for individuals still not entirely sure about which direction they want their career to go, an apprenticeship is seen by some as a bigger commitment to one career path than a college course might be, which can often be changed part way through, or used to apply for a wider variety of jobs.
One of the obstacles to recruitment can be negative comment, in the media or by word of mouth, about the aquaculture industry. This is especially a problem because not many people get to experience the reality of day-to-day life in the sector.
Mowi Scalpay team
Liz Barron-Majerik said that the extent to which negative press might influence potential recruits to the industry partly depends on their motivation. In agriculture and aquaculture, some individuals are motivated by technical aspects of the job – such as driving a tractor or a boat – and some because they want to work with animals. The latter group, she said, are probably more likely to be put off by negative comments about aquaculture.
She added, however, that spreading the word about the positive aspects of aquaculture will help to win back those who are passionate about working with animals and the marine environment.
She said: “It is a challenge… but I think we have a really good counter-message.”
Jillian Couto-Phoenix said that, with food security a major issue in terms of planning for the future, we have to talk about the need to build sustainable food systems.
And Jeni Adamson commented: “A lot of it is just misunderstanding.”
She added that communication with the parents of school pupils is also crucial.
Mowi Smart Farm control centre: fish farming is increasingly using remote monitoring
A changing industry
Technology and new practices are changing aquaculture – how does this affect the skills required and the attractiveness of the industry?
For Liz Barron-Majerik, the increased amount of data being used in the industry is a key factor, with more monitoring devices and more remote management of farm sites.
She said: “Understanding data, being confident with data is becoming ever more important.”
Jillian Couto-Phoenix agreed that “data skills are essential”.
She noted that the fish farming operators are hiring more data analysts – and they are training biologists to use data and training engineers in biological systems.
For Seafood Scotland, Jeni Adamson said: “Processing involves more technology too, now – and it’s a more pleasant environment to work in when there is more automation.”
A final question from the audience concerned whether employing people from overseas for remote roles might help recruitment.
The panel felt that this was still not an option for most jobs in the industry, however, and it could also be a two-edged sword if people with aquaculture skills in Scotland might be tempted to work remotely for overseas companies.
Carradale Mowi Scotland
Drawing conclusions
Wrapping up, it is clear first of all that there is a challenge in recruiting in what is, in numbers terms, a limited pool.
A key route for the industry is to get the message across to schools, and we are already seeing some very exciting projects around that.
There is also a need to strengthen still further communications and engagement between educational institutions and industry, to ensure they are in alignment – recognising all the while that supporting industry is not the sole priority of the education sector.
The panel were in agreement that diversity is a positive thing in its own right. Even more importantly, it is about making organisations a better place to work. An effective approach to diversity can help employers to attract and retain the people they need.
Finally, it is clear that technology is changing the aquaculture and the seafood industry generally. This is changing the skills required and the nature of the work, which is also something that employers in the sector need to explain.
To see the webinar in full, go online to youtu.be/I3xY_ZM81MM
