Training key to poultry industry development
The poultry industry is working hard to promote training provision, from one-day courses to higher level qualifications. Olivia Cooper finds out what’s on offer.
Poultry training is experiencing something of a revival, with new courses being offered all over the country. The Poultry Meat Training Initiative (PMTI) is undoubtedly driving much of the resurgence, but the British Poultry Council is also trying to encourage more specialist poultry courses.
“We want to get poultry back on the syllabus and recreate links with the colleges,” says senior executive officer Richard Griffiths. “We’ve got to make poultry an attractive proposition to students seeking a dynamic and interesting career.”
Vocational training
The vast majority of poultry qualifications are vocational: work-based, part-time training in practical skills and knowledge. These tie into the PMTI, under which all poultry keepers in the Assured Chicken Production scheme must have suitable qualifications and/or experience.
Most are now in the form of Work Based Diploma (or SVQ in Scotland), which can be undertaken on-farm over a period of 12-18 months. Topics covered include health and safety, hygiene and biosecurity, record keeping, feed and water, ventilation and bird welfare. Courses are tailored according to production system, including brooding, rearing, egg laying and broiler production, and are delivered via one-to-one training and observation with an online evidence portfolio.
Many agricultural colleges, including Easton College in Norfolk, offer poultry diplomas within their local vicinity, as well as short courses, ranging from gait scoring and heat stress to live animal transport qualifications.
Poultec Training covers most of the country, and also arranges apprenticeships with training over a 12-month period, as well as short courses in poultry welfare, gait score, heat stress, hygeine and biosecurity and all other PMTI requirements. “We deliver about 80% of the vocational courses in the industry, and are the biggest provider of apprenticeships in the livestock sector,” says the firm’s Nathan Raines. “The poultry industry is very proactive when it comes to training.” Government funding is available in many cases.
College courses
Higher level qualifications are less freely available, and often form part of more general agricultural courses. However, at the Scottish Agricultural College students can progress right up to a PhD, with 22 students enrolled in the MSc in applied poultry science. A modular, web course, students can choose whether to sit a post-graduate certificate, post-graduate diploma, or the full MSc qualification, taking a year of full-time study. Topics include health and hygiene, egg and meat production systems, incubation and hatchery, nutrition and growth, housing and environment, welfare, behaviour and management skills.
An HNC in poultry production – equivalent to the first year of a degree course – gives entry to year two of a degree in agriculture or applied animal science, lasting three to four years on campus. The subject range is similar to the MSc, and also includes IT and business management.
Harper Adams also offers higher level qualifications as part of more general agricultural courses, including a foundation certificate, HND, degree and MSc. Courses are tailored according to requirements, so students can choose as many poultry management and business modules as they like. “Students who’ve won the industry’s poultry scholarship also do a work placement; we have close links with the industry,” says senior lecturer Graham Scott. Grant funding may be available.
Other courses
There is a plethora of short courses – whether accredited through colleges or run by farmers for smallholders and new entrants. These range from basic poultry keeping to catching and handling or meat processing. Most are held on farm or at the college. Examples include Plumpton College, Sussex, which runs a poultry rearing, processing and slaughter course. Duchy College in Cornwall holds a number of courses to suit industry demand, including work-based Diplomas level 2 and 3, advanced poultry health and welfare and pullet rearing.
Another option is distance learning. Many colleges offer this type of web-based course, leading to a recognised qualification. ACS Distance Education specialises in web courses, enabling students to study from home, at their own pace. The poultry course caters for farmworkers and amateurs, covering all aspects of poultry care and management.
For those seeking more specialised knowledge in poultry health, the Institute for Animal Health in Berkshire runs an annual two-week course on the nature, diagnosis and control of infectious diseases. For more information contact 01635 578 411 or visit www.iah.bbsrc.ac.uk.
Useful contacts
• SAC – 01292 525118 or www.sac.ac.uk.
• Harper Adams – 01952 815390 or www.harper-adams.ac.uk.
• Poultec on 01362 850983 or visit www.poultec.co.uk.
• Chicken keeping courses – www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/chicken-course/index.php.
• Plumpton College – 01273 890454 or www.thenetherfieldcentre.co.uk.
• Duchy College – 01579 372345 or www.cornwall.ac.uk.
• Easton College – 01603 731542 or www.easton-college.ac.uk.