Three-Year Plan Announced to Grow and Support Racing’s Workforce

[Wandering Eyes]

A new three-year workforce strategy, designed to improve recruitment, development and retention of people working within the racing and breeding industries, has been announced by the independently-chaired Horseracing Industry People Board (HIPB).

Titled Our People, Racing's Future, the strategy encompasses five main themes, starting with the recruitment of more people with suitable skills, the training and development of new and existing members of the workforce, and improving employment practices to help with retention of staff. The final two elements are inclusion and wellbeing, with an emphasis on mental and physical health provision.

The plan is described as “a vision for ensuring racing is an attractive, rewarding and fulfilling industry in which to work, where people feel supported to build a career and achieve their potential”.

In turn, it is hoped that this will see a reduction in the skills shortage, with the aim of bringing the average vacancy rates across racing and breeding yards down to 10%. That figure currently stands at 24%, while it was also reported that 45% of staff are looking to leave the sport within the next two years.

Julia Tyson, interim chair of the HIPB, said, “The publication of the strategy is an important milestone for the sport. We are an industry driven by the passion, dedication and expertise of our people–and we must do more to support those at the heart of British racing and breeding.

“We know that working in our industry can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also be demanding. We are acutely aware of the challenges people face, especially in horse-facing roles. To ease these pressures, we need to recruit, develop and retain more people with the right skills and do more to prioritise people's physical and mental wellbeing.

“This workforce strategy builds on the vast amount of existing good practice while thinking about how we can do things differently, setting new standards for the future and doing so in a more coordinated way. It will take time to deliver, but we are encouraged by the willingness of the industry to get behind the plan.

“We all have an important role to play in ensuring the strategy's success and securing a more prosperous future for British racing and breeding–and the people who make it all possible.”

The HIPB includes Flat trainer Daniel Kubler, former National Hunt jockey Tom Scudamore, Helene Sharrock, chief people officer at the Jockey Club, and George McGrath, chief executive of the National Association of Racing Staff (NARS).

The strategy has also been approved by racing's leaders, with Brant Dunshea, acting chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), describing the launch as “an important moment for the sport”.

He added, “We have made welcome progress, especially in recent years, to create more attractive, safer, supportive and inclusive working environments for racing's people. We do recognise we need to do more and do it in a more coordinated way.

“We need to be more coordinated if we are going to tackle the challenges we face, particularly when it comes to recruitment and retaining the talent in our industry that will enable our sport, the people and horses to flourish.”

The strategy is available to view in full here.

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