Poultry Trainee of the Year Award open for business

The Zoetis/British Poultry Council Trainee of the Year Award is open for entries, looking to recognise and reward employees who are using training to advance their careers.

The award, open to those in the poultrymeat, egg and game sectors, offers a £2,000 training grant from Zoetis, plus £500 from Poultry World.

“Winning the Trainee of the Year Award is a great feather in the cap for anyone serious about progressing in the poultry industry,” said Tony Grainger, poultry product manager of Zoetis. “It clearly shows their dedication to learning, personal development and improving on the experience they’ve already gained. We see this award as an excellent opportunity to encourage talented poultry people.”

“Winning the Trainee of the Year Award is a great feather in the cap for anyone serious about progressing in the poultry industry,”Tony Grainer, Zoetis poultry product manager

Mr Grainger added the award served as a great platform to enhance an individual’s personal profile and industry knowledge.

This view was endorsed by BPC chief executive Andrew Large. “The poultry industry depends on the quality of its workforce to deliver the excellent service to customers for which it is renowned.

“Our employees are a vital part of that team, and it is right their hard work and perseverance is acknowledged. The Trainee of the Year Award spotlights the best, and the winner can be justifiably proud, as can the industry itself, for rewarding talent and encouraging new recruits.”

Last year’s winner was Nicholas Ham (pictured), a broiler breeder farm manager with Cargill at Woolhope, near Hereford, who received the award from Defra minister George Eustice.

Nicholas is planning to use the grant to help finance a distance learning course leading to an MSc in applied poultry science with Scotland’s Rural College. The course was launched four years ago with the first degrees being conferred last summer.

How to enter

Entries are simple and open to all in the industry – with no age limit – but must be received by Friday 19 September. Fill out the form contained as an insert with this issue, plus any extra pages you need, or visit www.fwi.co.uk/poultrytraining and print the form. Send the entry to Roger Ranson, The White Cottage, The Street, Long Stratton, Norwich NR15 2XJ.

The judging panel – Poultry World’s editor Philip Clarke, BPC’s Richard Griffiths, Tony Grainger of Zoetis and John Newton of Adas – will select the three best candidates and invite them for interviews on Thursday 6 November. The presentation will take place on Tuesday 2 December at the House of Commons. As well as the main prizes, all three finalists will have accommodation provided in central London.