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| On Topic
On Topic
Farming Minister George
Eustice said:
“Food and farming are the
cornerstone of our £210
billion-a-year rural
economy and we need
innovative new entrants
coming into the sector who
are able to meet the
challenges that agriculture
will face in the future. Via
the Rural Development
Programme, and the £160
million Agri-Tech Strategy,
we are creating help for
young farmers to gain new
skills and develop their
careers. It’s also great to
see businesses like
McDonald’s support
newcomers through
initiatives like the
Progressive Young Farmer
Training Programme.”
McDonald’s opens gate for the 2015/16
intake of Progressive Young Farmer
Training Programme
Programme opens after research reveals critical skills gap in UK farming sector.
cDonald’s continues its
commitment to cultivating the
best of British farming talent as
applications open for its 2015/16
Progressive Young Farmer
Training Programme. The one-ofa kind training scheme aims to
encourage more young people to consider a career in
agriculture, at a time when the sector faces a
significant skills shortage.
Statistics released by UKCES earlier this year found
that skills deficiencies impact recruitment for 28% of
farming roles – a more persistent and concentrated
shortage than in almost any other sector. It was also
revealed that farmers of the future will need more
technical, ICT and management skills[1].
In addition, ONS data highlights the need to attract
thousands more young people to the sector as the
current workforce ages. Younger women proved the
most underrepresented with only one in six of today’s
UK farmers being female[2].
The programme opens three weeks ahead of the
Oxford Farming Conference which will focus on how
British farming can be more ambitious and compete
at a global level, with a focus on innovation and
progressive skills. A part of Farm Forward,
McDonald’s Progressive Young Farmer Training
Programme aims to address the issue by:
• Widening the talent pool to include young
people with and without farming backgrounds –
McDonald’s is encouraging young people from all
backgrounds to consider a future in farming and
championing young women who want to enter the
sector. More than half of McDonald’s Progressive
M
10 | Farming Monthly | January 2015
Young Farmers to date have been young women.
Students at colleges and universities throughout the
UK, not just those studying agriculture, are invited to
apply to the programme.
“As one of the biggest customers of British and
Irish farming, we care about the future success of
the industry.”
• Helping young farmers to develop the right mix of
skills – the Progressive Young Farmer Training
Programme (now entering its fourth year) provides
young farmers with the blend of animal husbandry,
technical and business management skills needed to
succeed in today’s farm [