Local Authority Capacity and Capability: Chapter 2 Attracting people to relevant education pathways

As part of this research, efforts were made to identify how many students were applying to, studying and completing relevant EH and TS courses. This data was difficult to access consistently across education providers, limiting the extent to which it was possible to model student numbers. This will be explored further during follow-up work.

General perceptions 

This section summarises how stakeholders perceive the current landscape of EH and TS courses overall, with a focus on those at the early stages of the EH or TS professional journey. It does not aim to be comprehensive in terms of the range of possible routes to qualification to deliver food and feed official controls in LAs. Instead, the findings are intended to set out how EH and TS pathways are viewed in general. This provides context for findings set out later in the report about perceived barriers and opportunities around recruitment and retention of suitably/ appropriately qualified staff in LAs.

Perceptions of current EH and TS courses

Education providers offer a range of different courses for those interested in starting a career in EH or TS. The universities who participated in the research were focused on undergraduate and postgraduate EH degrees (including Level 6-degree apprenticeships). Some universities also offer specific courses aimed at TS or other experienced professionals taking on responsibility for official controls not usually in their remit. A Level 4 Regulatory Compliance Officer (RCO) apprenticeship route is also available in England. When completed, the RCO apprenticeship can exempt an individual from the first year of the Level 6 Apprenticeship degree and Stage 1 of the CTSI professional competency framework.  

EH education pathways

Generally, EH courses cover five environmental health areas (Environmental Protection, Food Safety, Health & Safety, Housing & Communities, Public Health, as outlined by CIEH). Training students to be generalists in EH was viewed positively by education providers as this enables them to work in a range of roles once graduated. This approach also reflects the requirements for registration with EH professional membership bodies. 

Education providers said that many mature students become interested in studying EH because of their interactions with EH professionals carrying out inspections in hospitality or other food settings. During their courses, students often find aspects of EH other than food equally or more interesting. 

Most EH students were studying general EH courses across different education pathways, including Masters degrees at universities, undergraduate degrees at colleges and universities, and apprenticeship routes. Students were studying both full time and part time.

Some EH students had a view on which area of the profession they would like to specialise in, whilst others were undecided and open to different opportunities. Often previous experience in food safety or food preparation were key drivers for interest in food, and for seeking employment within food teams in LAs. 

“I already have a food background, so that is my strong point. But I would like to get the knowledge and experience on all the areas. Then from there, decide which one is my favourite.” (Student)

Education providers also described running more specific food standards and food hygiene courses. These courses were seen by course leaders as beneficial for those who needed a qualification focused solely on food or feed. For example, one institution offers a conversion course for TS professionals to train in EH. This is a bespoke course which allows TS professionals to complete relevant EH modules, enabling them to retrain within one year. The course recognises their background in regulation through their TS qualifications. Typically, students on the conversion course are already employed within LAs but need a specific qualification to demonstrate their competence to deliver official controls. There were examples of this being needed because EH and TS teams were merging, requiring existing staff to broaden their professional expertise. 

TS education pathways

TS apprenticeships are currently the main education pathway for new TS professionals. These courses allow students to firstly achieve their Level 4 RCO qualification, which aligns with the CTSI Professional Competency Framework. ^(footnote)

Education providers delivering TS apprenticeships described strong working relationships with professional bodies, primarily with CTSI. Students on the TS apprenticeship pathway come from a wide variety of organisations, the majority of which are within the public sector, working within LAs and national regulators, and a minority of which work within the private sector.

Students with backgrounds or current employment within TS were also included in the research. They either studied on the TS apprenticeship route or were undertaking specific courses to broaden their competence (as described above). As such, in some cases, students had previously been working within TS and were taking conversion courses to train in aspects of EH relevant to their role. This enabled them to gain further knowledge and experience in addition to their existing qualifications. A further educational route is EH professionals undertaking training in TS. However, the research did not involve EH professionals undertaking TS courses, and therefore no findings about their experiences can be included within this research.

“I'm doing the TSO compression course. My background is in trading standards, and I've moved across into a district council where we are doing port health work, environmental health work, trading standards work, so combined now really. So, that's why the qualification, the higher food qualification, is what I'm aiming to get. It's a compression course. So, it's 2 years compressed into 1 year, because we get recognition for our trading standards qualifications, and regulatory experience already.” (Student)

Participants from TS backgrounds studying for the EH conversion course liked the modular approach and compression into one or two years. Completing this course enables these students to expand their skillset and their employment prospects within a shortened timeframe. 

Students studying on TS apprenticeship routes were already employed within LAs, working alongside studying. These students wanted to retain their LA roles once their apprenticeships ended and felt this was likely to happen. TS apprenticeship students perceived that obtaining the qualification would provide themselves and their employers reassurance about their skillsets and enable them to develop their careers further as TS professionals.

Perceived profile of students

According to education providers and students, while there was a mix of different professional backgrounds and ages for those studying EH and TS courses, students were typically mature or career changers. Those studying EH and TS apprenticeship routes were already employed within LAs, often in Regulatory Compliance Officer or equivalent roles, reflecting the requirements of these courses. Some were older, having developed an interest in regulation and public protection later in their career.  

Participants studying EH undergraduate or Masters’ courses at universities had a range of previous experiences, with some being already engaged in EH-related work, either within LAs or in the private sector. Some were new to the EH profession, but they often had previous or current employment in related sectors such as hospitality. 

“I mean, I know there's a lot of different routes to qualification, I guess, and I know there's more emphasis now on Regulatory Compliance Officer, sort of, apprentice, whether that's encouraging people or not, I don't really know, because it's quite a broad qualification.” (Student)

Education providers explained that EH undergraduate degree courses attract some school leavers, but these are typically the minority of students. This was echoed by student participants, who mentioned low numbers of school leavers on their courses. Education providers thought that low up-take from school leavers was due to the lack of visibility of careers in EH and TS among the public. 

“It's very rare we have someone who's 18 or 19, [it’s] a complete novelty, so the demographics of our course are completely different to any other programme we have in the college. And we have had the odd student from further education in previous years, one or two, but as I said, it's the exception not the norm.” (Education provider)

Education providers also noted a significant number of international students undertaking EH degrees in the UK. International students studying EH had similar motivations and interest as UK-based students and, like their UK-based counterparts, often had relevant professional experience in their home countries. University course leaders suggested that the uptake among international students may be due to the desirability of studying in the UK and may likely return to their home countries to seek employment. Some international students included in the research sought employment in the UK. The research could not determine how many international students go on to work in the UK.

Relationships between education providers and professional bodies

Education providers describe strong working relationships with professional bodies, particularly CIEH in the case of EH courses at universities, including being accredited by CIEH. This was similar for CTSI and relevant education providers when it comes to TS apprenticeships. 

CIEH develops frameworks for degree courses, working closely with academics and maintaining communication with course leaders to continually develop modules. This accreditation was perceived as vital by course leaders, particularly for attracting students. The frameworks help ensure that courses provided across the country maintain a consistent level of quality. Education providers who report particularly positive relationships with professional bodies have often been engaged in roles for professional bodies (for example, sector boards). 

“We have ongoing conversations, only a few weeks ago we had the person responsible… coming in to talk to our students about the registration process. We regularly engage with them so that students are aware of the qualification process, so they can look ahead to know not just about completing the degree but what they need to do in the future.” (Education provider)

The close working relationships that EH education providers have with CIEH enabled students to gain a deeper understanding of the career path, which was seen as complex. For example, several course leaders spoke of CIEH members speaking to their students to prepare them for the registration process once they graduate. To make progressing into careers easier for students, education providers also talk students through the process of registering with CIEH, have frequent contact with LAs regarding job opportunities, and ensure students gain interpersonal skills required by EH roles. 

However, education providers find that roles advertised by LAs may not be most appropriate for their students. Often LAs require that applicants be professionally qualified (having completed the portfolios with six months of professional experience) rather than being open to take on new graduates. Education providers would like to see LAs provide more support and opportunities for EH graduates. This is something that will be considered in more detail in Chapter 3.

Those delivering TS apprenticeships, much like their EH counterparts, had strong working relationships with CTSI. The main education provider offering TS courses was highly engaged with CTSI and would often work with regional representatives. 

The RCO apprenticeships are endorsed by CIEH and CTSI. These apprenticeships were seen as having been successful at attracting more people to join relevant educational pathways. 

“If [the Level 4 apprenticeship] had been specialised to one regulatory body then you wouldn't get many people taking it on. But as it is wide reaching across all regulatory bodies, we have managed to get 200-300 people a year.” (Professional or leadership body)

Reasons people chose EH and TS education pathways

Students were often motivated to join EH and TS courses due to an interest in protecting public health and the technical aspects of regulation and carrying out inspections. They described wanting to protect the public and ensure things were done in the right way. An interest in food was often a factor, even for those who went on to specialise in other aspects of EH or TS during or after completing their courses.

The Covid-19 pandemic provided the catalyst for some current students to change from previous careers or seek further qualifications and experience. For example, one participant was made redundant from their job at a local charity so looked at starting a new career. Another was self-employed prior to the pandemic and could no longer continue that work due to restrictions, so applied for a role at their LA, and this enabled them to discover the EH profession.

“It's an interesting course, it's an interesting career, at the end of the day, from what I've seen. It's something that you enjoy doing because as it has been paid for, getting the career out of it, you realise that you're contributing, you're saving people out there, which is important.” (Student)

The relatively limited number of education providers offering EH university courses meant that most participated in distance learning. This was welcomed by students as it enabled them to complete their studies around their busy lives and jobs. In a few instances, students would have preferred more in-person learning to facilitate practice-based learning and learning alongside colleagues. 

Perceptions of EH and TS courses among students

EH students reported finding their courses interesting and engaging. While the courses varied to some extent in content and teaching style, the CIEH framework and accreditation means that students graduating with EH degrees should have the same level of experience and knowledge as counterparts from other educational institutions. 

For many EH students, the variety in their courses was welcomed. This breadth of experience was also seen as important by professional bodies.

“The advantage of doing [an EH] degree is that you end up with someone who has more holistic understanding of risks, covering health and environmental health issues in food premises.” (Professional or leadership body)

Despite this, some EH students already had a speciality in mind, and there was some frustration that they had to study a range of specialisations to qualify. Those interested in working within food hygiene and food safety suggested that more specialist courses should be available for those who have already decided what roles they are interested in. 

“Maybe it's that broadness of it that means that people aren't as interested, because if you might be interested in one bit, you've actually got to go through X, Y and Z just to do that one bit… perhaps if you're doing the course in your 40s, 50s or whatever, it might be that you do want to specialise and not waste time learning. It is precious when you've got kids running around and you're trying to do your job as well.” (Student)

Some students found the emphasis on legislation challenging but acknowledged the importance of this knowledge for their future EH career. Students and education providers described the EH courses as mostly theory-based, with more limited practical experience, depending on the course. 

“With legislation as well, I didn't realise there would be so much of that. And, with becoming an EH professional, I feel like you kind of need to know everything about everything, which can feel very overwhelming. It's nearly like information overload.” (Student)

While practical elements of courses were welcomed, the ability to gain practical experience had sometimes been impeded by the Covid-19 pandemic and the move to remote learning. Students felt that courses would be more informative and prepare them further for their careers if there was more access to practical learning.

“To be able to gain the theory, in terms of the legislation, which can be quite dry, and not the easiest thing to understand, if you can then see how that is enforced, or looked at in practice, it makes a massive difference to how easy it is to learn.” (Student)

Students on TS courses had usually joined the apprenticeship route as an opportunity for development and promotion within their LA job roles. For many, completing the course was therefore a way to gain experience and progress in their careers. However, for others, joining the apprenticeship was driven by their LA managers and a need for them to be trained up to deliver more public protection activities. 

Some TS apprentices found their studies challenging to complete alongside their day-to-day job roles. There was some frustration among RCO apprenticeship students who perceived course content as not closely linked to their job role. Apprenticeship students felt that the course provided training for activities which they had already carried out in their day-to-day roles, such as how to serve notices. Similarly, they described having to study aspects which did not apply to their current role. 

“It’s like you’re running after the diploma and the paperwork rather than actually learning something applicable.” (Student)

“I haven’t found the RCO has provided me with a lot of useful information workwise. It’s so repetitive, it’s a tick-box exercise.” (Student)

Barriers to entering education pathways

Limited awareness of EH and TS professions

Many education providers mentioned relatively low numbers of students applying to EH qualifications and courses when compared to other courses at universities. This was the case for both EH and TS qualifications. Education providers felt that limited awareness of EH and TS professions among the public was the primary reason for low uptake of these education pathways. This was seen as a particular barrier to attracting school leavers to the professions.

“We’re not getting traction [among 16-18-year-olds] as they don’t know about us” (Education provider)

“I don't think many people set out to be food inspectors. I don't think at school there is a career session on that one.” (Professional or leadership body)

Reflecting on their experience, LA managers described doing less to promote EH and TS careers in schools over recent years. Financial pressures and insufficient staff were mentioned as barriers to LAs doing more. Some LA managers suggested that the Covid pandemic may have had an impact on career advice services for students across the board, which also may have had an impact on the number of school leavers interested in EH and TS careers. Overall, it was suggested that the promotion of EH and TS careers should be a joint effort between professional bodies and LA regulatory teams, working with others in their LA.

“In the past we used to do talks at schools to try and tell school leavers what the profession was about, to encourage them to come into the profession. We used to do newsletters for councillors so that we raised awareness of the types of work that we got involved in and what we did. And over the years all of that has just dropped off the agenda because we've been, you know, had so many reductions in our service and staffing that those kinds of things are always the first things that fall off the list of jobs that you have time to do.” (LA manager, EH, England)

“It's not just the fact they're not telling people there's jobs in Trading Standards and Environmental Health, they're just not telling people about jobs at all, so I think we probably need, collectively, to find alternative routes into youngsters. And I think that is very much a role for our professional bodies, because I don't think we should be doing it locally, I think there should be resources that we can tap into to promote to schools and university students. And I think our, you know, central government agencies have a role to play in that as well, in promoting what value we provide at local level for delivering on their behalf.” (LA manager, EH, England)

Some education providers described work they had done to engage younger people in the courses, such as attending careers fairs and speaking to school-age children. However, there was a recognition that all those involved in the professions needed to do more to generate interest in the career among young people. 

Students also discussed the low visibility of EH and TS professions. Many became aware of EH or TS work as a result of their previous work experience in the hospitality sector or through personal connections to the industry, such as having a family member who works as an EH or in another food role. They often described their friends as not understanding the work they did and felt this lack of awareness was a barrier to others joining the professions.

“I fell into EH by accident just via temping. I was just temping locally, and the job came up” (Student)

“When I was younger, I studied food and nutrition and from that I took a bit of an interest to the food part of things as well. My friend's dad was actually an environmental health officer and told me about the course” (Student)

Challenges faced by students

Education providers thought that financial costs and the time taken to complete their courses and professional qualifications were likely to be a barrier to some prospective students. They explained that most of their students studying for degrees (for example, non-apprentices) also have jobs outside of their study to support themselves financially. 

Those delivering the TS apprenticeship said that students were employed within LAs and therefore usually had funding to support them through the course. This reliance on LA employment was seen as a potential barrier to other students who are not already employed within LAs, limiting those who could afford to join the course. 

“Regarding food, FSA should support promotion of food specialisations. Getting people qualified. It should be either subsidise through uni or FSA because there are too many challenges for people to get qualified. It costs a lot to get a qualification. Unless you have an incentive to do it, you’re not going to do it.” (Education provider)

Post-graduation barriers to LA employment

Both students and education providers thought that most graduates who wanted to work in LAs were generally able to do so. Those on apprenticeship routes were often retained by their employer after finishing their qualification.

However, education providers called for further support for EH and TS professionals in their early careers. Education providers perceived additional barriers to EH students seeking to complete food or feed specialisms, such as the six-months of required workplace experience and competency requirements to become professionally qualified after leaving education. Education providers wanted more trainee and graduate positions for their students, particularly in EH. This is because non-apprentices graduating from EH qualifications often find LA roles require them to have already completed their EH Practitioner portfolio. Students can therefore face challenges finding a role and employer support to do so. For some students, according to education providers, the lack of opportunity to complete the portfolios in LAs pushes them towards the private sector. 

“The biggest barrier is the FSA putting more barriers for people to graduate as food officers instead of taking extra steps.” (Education provider)

Education providers were also aware that LAs often do not have the budget and resources to support new graduates through the portfolio process for professional qualifications. Reflecting this, EH LA managers felt that a lot of the responsibility for ensuring recent graduates are able to carry out their job roles now fell to them. 

“Once upon a time you’d go to uni, you’d know your route to qualification, you know that you’d go to LA or business, and you’d have to work through the logbook requirements. Now it’s very much, ‘These are the learning outcomes we want you to have, you go away and find it and come back to us with your portfolio and we expect your sponsor whose based at an LA to be the person that’s saying the work you’re producing is fit for purpose and was going to make you a competent officer when you get to the end of it.’ So a lot of onus has been pushed back onto LAs.” (LA manager, EH, England)

Comparable challenges were also raised by TS managers in LAs. They discussed the time taken to complete professional qualifications following completing the TS apprenticeship and felt this was out of step with other roles paying at a similar level. 

“With TS, what's happened over many, many years is the chopping and changing of the qualification route… So the actual qualification is a barrier, I think… for our apprentices, they're not on a vast amount of money… They could probably all turn around and get another job paying more, if they wanted to, with their qualifications.” (LA manager, TS, England)

Education providers and some LA managers suggested that more students were going to work in the private sector after graduating than had done in the past. This was more of an issue for EH because more private sector opportunities were available to graduates. Education providers thought these roles may be attractive because there is not always a requirement to complete further professional qualifications for private sector roles, and because they offer a better salary than LAs. 

“If you have degree students, they're going to go off probably to the private sector because it's easier to get a job because you don't have to jump through so many hoops to be able to undertake official controls.” (LA manager, EH, England)

A minority of students said they wanted to go directly into a private sector role. Where this was the case, students typically had previous experience of working in LAs which influenced their outlook or had connections with the private sector previously or through their course. 

These students favoured the style of work in the private sector over that of LA roles as the work is perceived to be faster paced than within LA roles. 

Education providers and LA managers also perceived that an increasing number of graduates were going straight to the private sector from education. They assumed that this was motivated by better remuneration, and also pointed to the private sector not having additional professional and competency requirements (beyond completing relevant courses) for staff to be able to perform their roles. 

However, most students continued to view LA roles as the preferred first career step, even if they would look to private employment later. For example, many aimed to gain experience, and in the case of food or feed roles, complete their professional qualifications and competencies prior to moving to the private sector. Reasons students are attracted to LA roles are discussed in more detail in Chapter 3.

“Ideally, I’d love to get a couple of years under my belt and then go out contracting. That’s what, you know, the ultimate goal for me would be but without the experience, you’re pretty stuffed, really, you can’t go anywhere.” (Student)

LA concerns about education pathways

Some LAs highlighted concerns about the quality of graduates and therefore the training offered by education providers. These LAs felt that the current qualifications do not prepare graduates for LA roles, which means LAs often have to provide further training to ensure officers are competent to carry out food and feed controls. This is covered in more detail in Chapter 3.

Among LA managers who had these concerns, a lack of practical experience was cited as the main issue affecting the quality and type of work early careers staff can perform. This was particularly seen among those who have studied EH courses with more focus on theory. Given the capacity challenges currently facing LAs, the need to further develop qualified staff is putting pressure on already pressurised LA teams. This finding is consistent with students who also cited a lack of practical experience as a barrier.

“When I speak to students who are undertaking courses – or have done in the last probably 5 or 6 years – it seems that it doesn't really prepare them for doing the job.” (LA manager, EH, England)

“The quality of their knowledge was no more than some that had done an advanced food hygiene course… I'm still trying to train them up to a level where I could feel confident that I would be happy for them to go out and do food work. You know, I'm holding them back because I don't feel that they've got the knowledge and the experience because of the lack of practicality that they didn't have on that course. Even their grasp of legislation and applying that legislation and just all that experience.” (LA manager, EH, England)

LA managers who had these concerns wanted education providers to engage with them and ensure qualifications meet their needs. Some LA managers felt it was important for those delivering the courses to have a background and experience in the qualifications they are teaching. They perceived a lack of recent real-world experience among lecturers was reflected in the lack of relevant knowledge and expertise among recent graduates.

Opportunities to attract people to education pathways

Raising the profile of EH and TS professions

In general, professional bodies were thought to have a crucial role in promoting EH and TS professions overall. Although CTSI and CIEH were seen as advocating for EH and TS careers generally, participants suggested that they could be doing more to promote the profile of these careers with school and university students. To support recruitment to food and feed controls, activities to support EH and TS careers should also include a focus on these specialisms.

Education providers and students had limited awareness of what roles professional bodies played in promoting EH and TS professions. However, the examples they were aware of were viewed positively and seen as important for the future of their profession. 

“CIEH have tried to bring back a bit of a promotional campaign about what the profession is, how you get into the profession. But I think, probably, I don't know, if people go out to the likes of careers advice and things like that. So, just being a bit more proactive in letting people know that the job exists in the first place.” (Former LA employee, EH, England)

“I don't know what's happened to Trading Standards … so yes, I think there definitely needs to be some PR on all of these jobs if they really want people to start applying for them.” (LA officer, EH Port Health, England) 

Some education providers and LAs viewed the lack of visibility of the EH and TS professions overall as something that professional bodies could work more with the FSA to address. Students from TS backgrounds also felt the FSA could do more to promote the profession. 

Education providers also recognised their role in promoting EH and TS professions by raising the profile of courses to prospective students. They placed particular emphasis on engaging more school leavers. Students also felt that more should be done to promote the courses to both school leavers and career changers. To promote EH courses, students and LAs suggested taking a targeted approach, engaging young people at careers fairs or in schools as well as raising the profile of the profession among the public more generally.

 “If the wider public don't understand, then it's not surprising that young people don't know because it's not something that's known widely, and so it's all about getting that information in at a stage when younger people can make decisions about it.” (Student)

“Because we have had difficulties recruiting, it's something that our HR department are looking at, is career fairs and making links with schools. […] I think it's something that we do need to pick up on because students do not know what environmental health is and I don't think the FSA really encourage that either.” (LA manager, EH, NI)

Raising the profile of food and feed roles in LAs

Across stakeholders, there was broad consensus that promoting food and feed roles in LAs should be a joint effort between professional bodies (CIEH and CTSI), LAs themselves, education providers, and the FSA. 

“We're just about to embark on some kind of initiative where we're going to go into sixth forms and try and promote environmental health, and do that alongside CIEH, they're called career ambassadors, I think is their term for it, because there's not people coming through.” (Student)

Across stakeholder groups, there was also an emphasis on LAs and the FSA doing more to promote food and feed roles delivering official controls. In part, this was based on participants arguing that more needed to be done to raise the profile of these specific aspects of EH and TS in response to the recruitment and retention challenges. They found it harder to suggest what this might look like in detail. 

“I think it's a joint responsibility of the LAs themselves, but also the FSA have a role in that… I just think there's quite a lot of work to do in just promoting in general.” (Former LA employee, EH, England)

“I said to our managers that we need to go into the schools, we need to go to the colleges, we need to go to the sixth form, and say what we do, why we do it. When I left school, I didn't know this role.” (LA officer, TS, England)

Using apprenticeships to attract more people to relevant education pathways

Education providers viewed apprenticeships and apprenticeship degrees as a good opportunity to promote the EH and TS profession and provide an accessible qualification. Apprenticeships were viewed as an attractive option as they enable students to be sponsored by their employer while completing their studies.

Likewise, LAs identified apprenticeships as an opportunity to attract and engage a new generation of professionals, which would benefit LAs but also those interested in joining the profession. From the perspective of LAs, benefits such as the Apprenticeship Levy ^(footnote)  facilitate the recruitment of apprentices. However, the time and resources required to fully train someone coming through this route was perceived as a barrier for LAs that already face pressures delivering official controls. To support this process, LAs said they wanted more resources to support apprenticeship placements. They also thought that this would lead to more recruitment to food and feed roles, provided the right support was in place for early careers EH and TS professionals.

“Apprenticeships take a lot of work and resources from local authorities to train them up, but it could be a long-term solution.” (LA manager, EH, England)

“We've got the levy and all sorts of benefits. Apprenticeships are not problematic for recruitment from my perspective, but an apprentice takes a 4-year period until they can actually get involved with food work. So, our apprentices are deployed into all other sorts of other activity, EH activity where they actually have a case load, but they cannot do food work because of the qualification requirements.” (LA manager, EH, England)

“[FSA] may need to take a more strategic view of the overall funding position for LAs if they really want to change this because as I say throughout, when we say, 'Who wants to come and train through an apprenticeship pathway?' Loads of people are up for that. So the barrier is not the pathway, the barrier is resources.” (LA manager, TS, England)