On Thursday 27th February Developing the Young Workforce organised a Rural Career Event called Plant the Seed! The aim of this event was to give secondary pupils from Dundee and Angus the opportunity to participate in interactive workshops, meet employers and individuals who work within the sector and learn about the different career options.
Our Keynote speaker was Archie Gibson, Executive Director of Agrico (specialist developer and supplier of high grade seed potatoes www.agrico.co.uk) who spoke to pupils about agri-food and land-based careers. Archie got pupils to think about the future of land based careers and the importance modern technology and skills will play in shaping the industry.
Pupils then took part in 4 work shops covering Agriculture, Horticulture, Land-based Engineering and Game & Wildlife!
Agriculture – Bruce & Carol from the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) do a lot of work with teachers and pupils and pupils learnt about all the different job aspects of being a farmer and other careers in agriculture.
Horticulture – This was delivered by Gregor from Dundee & Angus College who run several land-based courses from Agriculture, Estates & Horticulture to Animal Care. Pupils learnt all about the different types of herbs and horticulture machinery.
Land-based Engineering – This was delivered by Alison and her team at Scanstone (a local Forfar based company specialising in new and used soil preparation equipment). Pupils were able to test the electronics on a machine through a control box and also learned about the different jobs within Scanstone and the destoning process!
Game & Wildlife – Delivered by Angus Glens Moorland Group and Scottish Gamekeepers Association pupils had a go at building bird boxes, learned about the different traps used by a Gamekeeper and met a very friendly working Labrador named Jazz!
During lunch pupils had the opportunity to talk to Lantra (one of the leading awarding bodies for land-based industries) and Ringlink (UK’s largest business ring for organisations working in agriculture, haulage, construction, forestry etc.) about land-based careers and Ringlinks pre-apprenticeship programme – www.ringlinkscotland.co.uk/pre-apprenticeship.
After lunch pupils went through to the Forfar Mart and learned more about the Mart, the different job roles and routes into the industry and took part in a mock sheep auction!
We couldn’t put on events like this without the support of these local organisations and companies and so would like to say a big thank you to them for giving up their time to take part in Plant the Seed. If you would like to find out more about what we or any of the organisations and companies involved in today’s event, please visit their websites!
Feedback from the event
100% of pupils, teachers and exhibitors enjoyed this event!
“A fantastic day and experience for all. Totally enjoyed it! 10/10 :)”
Pupils really enjoyed the variety of workshops and getting to take part in a mock auction with actual sheep! They have fed back that they would have liked more time at each workshop and some more hands on activities with more farming machinery and the option to drive a tractor!