Inclusion and better working together seem to have been the themes which have kept popping up in September. In many sections of the industry the debate on how to attract, recruit, train and develop staff and skills is a really pressing issue and being an industry that attracts the widest range of talent is a cornerstone of how we need to think about the people we need in our multi-faceted profession.
At RHS Wisley CIH was part of an event to highlight the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Charter – and this will have a full feature in December’s Horticulturist. The strength in working together, and bringing all parts of the profession continues to be what the CIH does and we are looking forward to more of this collaborative and inclusive approach in how we work.
‘Nature’s Diversity’ which is a panel discussion programmed by RBG Kew and 5×15 on 17 October will I’m sure be stimulating and fascinating – it has a great panel.
I’ve also been continuing our working relationship with one of our industry partners TIAH and had an introductory meet with Stephen Jacob – who is the recently appointed CEO – we talked about our ambitions and the need for continued collaboration and development – the combined strength of our organisations and how we can develop is on our ‘to-do’ list.
David Richardson CHort FCIHort
PRESIDENT
president@horticulture.org.uk