Appointment of manager for Land and Nature Skills Service (LANSS)
Tracey Jackson has been appointed as manager for the Land and Nature Skills Service (LANSS), a new service connecting people with learning and training opportunities in Cumbria’s land and nature-based sector.
The new organisation will also facilitate the development of skills provision to meet learner and employer needs and promote land and nature based jobs in Cumbria.
Having worked across Lancashire and Cumbria as a Rural Chartered Surveyor and most recently managed the Environment and Forestry Team at H&H Land & Estates, Tracey brings a wealth of network contacts and experience to drive forward the launch and delivery of LANSS.
Tracey lives in West Cumbria with her husband on a beef and sheep farm, and having grown up in Cumbria is passionate about raising the profile of career and employment prospects in the rural sector throughout the region.
Tracey, pictured left, said: “I am delighted to join LANSS and encouraged by the fantastic support which LANSS has from across the rural sector, the support and collaboration from education, business, non-profit organisations and the public sector is outstanding.”
LANSS is funded through a range of sources including significant grant funding from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme.
Tracey explained: “We are at an exciting stage of developing the LANSS with the branding and website build and recruitment of two new team members currently underway. We hope to have the branding and website in place by mid-June and a formal launch of the service by early September 2024.”
Managing Director of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce (who are the accountable body for the LANSS) and LANSS board member, Suzanne Caldwell, said on Tracey’s appointment: “It’s great to see the project coming to fruition, it has been three years in the planning, and we are thrilled that Tracey has joined us.”
In addition to the Chamber, the governing board running the LANSS includes the University of Cumbria who will provide a base for the LANSS team in Low Nook on their Ambleside Campus, The Farmer Network who will work closely with the LANSS team, as well as Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Westmorland & Furness Council, Cumberland Council and the North Pennines Natural Landscape.
ENDS
Notes to editors
For any queries please contact Suzanne Caldwell, 07825 050 298 or suzanne@cumbriachamber.co.uk or Tracey Jackson, 07920656963 tracey@lanss.uk
- Functions of the LANSS will include coordinating and communicating relevant training opportunities and promoting skilled careers in this sector, which includes farming, forestry and conservation. The service will benefit local people, businesses and training providers and celebrate the varied local opportunities in land- and nature-based work: important jobs for Cumbria’s economy, communities and landscape.
- The new service will include a comprehensive online directory of training opportunities, in-person advice on skill development pathways, and a service team hosted at University of Cumbria’s Ambleside campus. Those using the service may be employed or self-employed in the land and nature workforce or looking to move into these careers, they may also be volunteers and people seeking lifelong learning opportunities. The service will engage directly with schools and colleges, and with disadvantaged groups and communities which are underrepresented in the sector.
- With thanks to Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for their major grant to implement the service and for funding the prior development work; thanks to Defra’s Funding in Protected Landscape Programme (FiPL), Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, Westmorland & Furness Council, Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, University of Cumbria, Skills Hub Cumbria, Department for Education and Ernest Cook Trust for funding granted or pledged;
- Thanks to Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, University of Cumbria, The Farmer Network, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, North Pennines National Landscape Partnership, Cumberland Council and Westmorland & Furness Council for in-kind contributions and leadership in the present phase of work; and thanks to Food, Farming & Countryside Commission for coordinating the service design and local facilitation.
- North Pennines National Landscape Partnership represents the Protected Areas in Cumbria on the Governing Board.