Two new farm apprenticeships created by AHDB
© Tim Scrivener Two new farm apprenticeships have been created in response to calls from employers for agriculture and horticulture recruits to have a wider set of skills.
The General Farm Worker and Livestock Unit Technician apprenticeships have been approved and are set to launch later this year subject to funding.
See also: Farm apprenticeships: Everything you need to know
The AHDB ran an industry-wide consultation in October 2020 to gauge the needs of employers.
The results have informed the criteria for the new apprenticeships.
General Farm Worker
The General Farm Worker apprenticeship will help new entrants take their first steps into the industry.
Starting at level two, the training covers arable and livestock, and will see the apprentice work with a supervisor on a range of farm tasks, as well as record-keeping.
Apprentices that progress to a level three qualification will manage tasks on farm, applying the skills they have learned such as monitoring animal health and welfare and business productivity.
The worker will be able to make key decisions on a day-to-day basis to meet cross-compliance, biosecurity and farm-assurance standards.
Livestock Unit Technician
The Livestock Unit Technician apprenticeship is more specialised and there are different pathways that will help further knowledge on livestock and management of people.
This includes using technology to improve performance and help compliance, for example, scanning, EID tagging, robotic milking and managing livestock nutrition.
AHDB skills development manager Amie Burke said: “We listened to the feedback from employers who said they needed a wider skillset among their new recruits and that is exactly how we have shaped these two new apprenticeships.
“We are also looking to set standards for the next stage of their career with a level four apprenticeship. For this, we need further input from industry employers to ensure that we continue to provide the right standards to meet the needs of the farming industry.”
The new apprenticeships have been welcomed by the development board of The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH). TIAH will launch later this year as the home of professional development and training for the agriculture and horticulture industries in England.