Scottish winner of poultry training award

Benjamin Pollard, who works for leading broiler genetics company Aviagen in Scotland, has been voted the Pfizer Poultry Trainee of the Year 2010 by the readers of Poultry World.

The award, which is now into its fourth year and includes a £500 cash prize plus a £2000 training grant, was presented by Anne McIntosh MP, chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee, at a ceremony at the House of Commons on 1 November.

Mr Pollard joined Aviagen from high school in Haddington in 2001 to work in pedigree poultry breeding.

Three years later he became the assistant manager of the firm’s Garleton farm, then after narrowly missing out on a management trainee role, he was chosen to spend three months at Aviagen’s grandparent operation in India. Here he used his abilities to help train employees whose skills levels were limited. He is now involved in a six-month project analysing the chicken’s growth profile.

Left to right: Emmeline Randall of Pfizer, Debbie Watson of Aviagen, Benjamin Pollard (winner) and Ann McIntosh MP

Benjamin is studying with the Scottish Agricultural College where, after competing training in poultry behaviour and welfare, he is now enrolled on a fast-track S/NVQ level 3 qualification in poultry production. He has also undertaken 11 in-house training programmes at Aviagen from Bobcat and mobile tower, to respiratory protection and managing small teams.

Runners-up for this year’s award are Jamie Curston, who has worked for the Vion Food Group for just two years and now manages a small broiler unit at Barcham, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, and Lianne Jackson, who worked on two large Hook2Sisters broiler units near Scunthorpe, before being chosen as one of the company’s first management trainees.

The Pfizer Poultry Trainee of the Year award is run in conjunction with Poultry World and aims to recognise the importance of training.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Poultry World editor Philip Clarke said structured training was essential to encourage young people into the industry and to help give them a recognisable route for career progression.

The 2011 Pfizer Trainee of the Year Award attracted a good entry from around the country – though the majority had come from the meat side of the industry where the Poultry Meat Training Initiative has acted as a spur.

Mr Clarke urged the egg sector to put more people forward for the trainee award in future yearsl.