What farming careers can current agricultural students expect?
What jobs are the current crop of graduates taking? We talk to the colleges and students, as well as an employer, to find out.
Never has British agriculture needed an injection of talented, young, professionally-minded people like it does now. The question is, how easy is it for industry to get hold of them? And, in a world where many farmers’ sons and daughters are looking outside the industry for careers, are they sticking around to find out what opportunities are out there anyway?
If you are a company recruiting an agricultural student, you are likely to be looking for a bright individual capable of following a complete training scheme and offering their all for the company.
If you are a student, the chances are you are looking for the right training programme for you, one that will offer a structured career path, good prospects and, hopefully, a good salary. So are the two sides finding what they want?
Doing more
Do the students of today have the drive to push themselves into demanding career positions? Or are too many content to travel the world and to put off their career for as long as possible? If that is the case, should universities and colleges be doing more to help drive these students in the right direction and working with the employers to secure the best students for the right jobs?
With 97% of students coming out of places like the Royal Agricultural College and Harper Adams University College, getting a job in agriculture or the related industries within a year of graduating, some would challenge the view that future industry employees are moving away from agriculture at all. And with many companies desperately seeking keen and talented students to help take the industry forward, the job opportunities appear to be plentiful.
But, according to John Moverley of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, colleges and universities need to work more closely with the industry to provide the right courses for the right students.
Opportunites
“Industry has gone through some challenging times and the opportunities are out there for talented, forward-thinking graduates,” he says. “But there is a desperate need for the right dialogue between all parties involved in recruiting people for the future of farming.”
It is vital these students are taught the right courses for a career in the sector, he points out, but also that the right type of graduate is coming forward.
“The industry needs a wider range of skills than just an understanding of business management or stock health and welfare. We need proactive people coming forward with a think-outside-the-box attitude to help us move in the right direction.”
The tendency of the industry to talk itself down has put young people off the idea of a career in the industry, too, he says.
“The skills of the UK agricultural workforce have been devalued in recent years, particularly with the ongoing problems in the milk sector, so new entrants have been put off in the past. But it’s particularly encouraging to see recruitment figures from the likes of Harper Adams and RAC showing the industry has opportunities which need to be taken up.”
What do the main UK agricultural colleges’ offer?