Know How / Careers and personal development

From getting your first job in agriculture to maintaining your work skills and developing your career, we provide advice and insights. Find out what courses, qualifications and experience can help you get your foot on the ladder and how to make your CV attractive to future employers.

Hear from others working in agriculture to discover the range of different careers and find the one that’s right for you.

Key areas of focus:

  • Guidance on qualifications and careers in agriculture
  • Applying for jobs
  • CV writing and interview tips
  • Job profiles
  • Skills development

Find your perfect career in agriculture on the Farmers Weekly jobs website.

Case studies

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ASSESSING PERFORMANCE

How a new entrant got backing to set up in dairy

A simple, once-a-day system, relying on grazed grass and spring-block calving, was the step into dairy farming for new entrant Nick Cavill. The first cups went on in 2018 and…

LIVESTOCK

How time working off-farm can bring new skills home

Born-and-bred livestock farmers can benefit hugely from working off-farm before coming home to continue in the business. Whether it is a job on another farm, within the industry, or outside…

YOUNG FARMERS

How new entrants set up an organic duck egg business

Ditching the city life for the Welsh countryside in 2015, Josh and Abi Heyneke moved to the 4ha Parc Carreg Farm, Carmarthenshire, with the goal of becoming full-time farmers.  But…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Becoming a trainer provides extra income stream for farmers

The squeeze on farm profits has driven the search for alternative incomes. Farmers becoming training instructors is one option that can help provide extra income. A dire safety record for…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

How a council tenancy got a new entrant onto farming ladder

Greenfields Farm may only be 12ha but it has given Aled Harper a foothold in farming and a hunger to grow his business. In the three years since he was…

LAYERS

7 tips for new entrants from a first-time poultry tenant

At 18, Tim Clarke set a target to one day farm in his own right – an ambitious goal for someone with no background in farming and no assets to…

Practical advice

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POULTRY

Advice on developing a well-trained poultry team

A team can make or break any business, and a poor poultry team can affect production as well as efficiency. NFU Poultry Board member Will Lea helps deliver staff training…

LIVESTOCK

Advice for livestock farmers on improving management skills

Taking stock at the end of the year and considering what you would like to achieve in 2024 might include a building project or filling some knowledge gaps. But it…

LIVESTOCK

How time working off-farm can bring new skills home

Born-and-bred livestock farmers can benefit hugely from working off-farm before coming home to continue in the business. Whether it is a job on another farm, within the industry, or outside…

COMMUNITY

Is an agricultural degree worth doing?

Over the past three years, figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency have shown a gradual climb in the number of students enrolling to study land-based and agricultural degrees. In…

SHEEP

10 top tips for aspiring sheep farmers

Investing £16,000 in ewes and the basics to farm sheep gave 2021 Farmers Weekly Sheep Farmer of the Year Tim White a route into farming when he was made redundant…

STAFF MANAGEMENT

How farmers can bust 4 common myths about working in ag

The post-Brexit era and the impact of Covid-19 have had many people across the country questioning careers and work-life balance. Some have chosen to continue to work from home, turning…

JOB PROFILES

Job profile: What it’s like to be a plant breeder

It’s not easy to become a plant breeder, but if you are passionate about crops, it can be hugely satisfying to see something you helped create growing in fields across…

JOB PROFILES

Job profile: What's it like to work in agricultural PR?

If communication is your forte, then keeping farmers and the industry up to date on the latest news about products and services could be an interesting route into agriculture. It…

JOB PROFILES

Farming careers: Tractor driver to assistant farm manager

Simon Little, 35, is the assistant farm manager of the arable enterprise on a 3,000-acre mixed estate in East Sussex. From a non-farming background, Simon took a summer job carting…

JOB PROFILES

Job profile: Farmcare apprentice

Tom Mack is an apprentice with Farmcare a 18,000-acre lowland farming organisation, which works with farming contractors across the UK to grow arable crops and vegetables for the food service,…

JOB PROFILES

Job profile: What's it like to work for a technology start-up?

As the farming industry gets ever more technical, there is a need to encourage computer science graduates into this exciting, fast-paced and rapidly growing industry. Farmers are increasingly looking for…

JOB PROFILES

Farming careers: Agro chemical commercial technical manager

Employers in the agricultural sector are looking to recruit a wider range of candidates than you might expect. Jack Hill is proof that you can forge a career in the…

Who to work for?

Insights

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CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

What are the job prospects in food and farming?

Agriculture and the food supply chain remain major employers in the UK, with 462,000 people working on agricultural holdings in 2023, according to Defra’s June census. But cast the net…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

What does the future hold for agricultural apprenticeships?

Earlier this year, the government-commissioned Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain highlighted the importance of apprenticeships as a means of improving the skills of the agricultural…

LIVESTOCK

Why student vets are not going into the industry

Farmers and vets are being called on to be more inclusive and provide positive experiences during placements for student vets to increase the number of farm vets. It follows a…

Job listings

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