Young Farmers Leadership Academy
Next start date is in September!
This course has been designed by farmers for young aspiring farming leaders. Two successful programmes have already been delivered and this is our third year. Successful candidates to the programme work on the business and not just in the business allowing them to develop a more strategic approach to farm business development. To be eligible to participate on the programme candidates will be expected to have at least five years agricultural experience and feel that they would benefit from a course on management or leadership skills. Entry onto the programme will be by interview which will include an assessment.
The Young Farming Leaders Academy (YFLA) consists of six x two-day modules of ten hours each. (Total 60 hours). The course does not have a qualification attached to it at the moment rather a certificate of attendance recognised by industry representatives for continual professional development. There may be opportunities in the future for accreditation. Read more about the launch of our Academy here
For further details about the Young Farmers Leadership Academy download our brochure
Error loading Partial View script (file: ~/Views/MacroPartials/InsertUmbracoFormWithTheme.cshtml)Case Study: Ruari Martin
Young farmer recruited in the first cohort
Ruari comes from a non-farming background but has been pursuing a career in agriculture on completing a BSC in Agriculture. Prior to the course he was an Assistant Farm Manger on two sheep and beef farms. Rauris’ practical skills were extremely good however his management and leadership experience was limited or were being challenged by his superiors due to his young age. This led Ruari to feel that he needed to gain more experience in business and man management before applying for a more senior Farm Management role in future. Rurai joined the programme whilst working as a Technical Consultant for a large national livestock feed company who supported his attendance on the course to complete the first YFLA programme successfully. He was landed his dream job half-way through the course as a livestock farm manager on a large estate in Nottinghamshire with rare breed cattle, rare bred pigs and sheep.
On completing the course Ruari fed back that the course had allowed him to plan a focused career path, improve his management skills and help him identify what good leadership required. This spurred him on to develop himself further and he is currently studying for an MBA in International Business Management (online). He also successfully applied for and obtained a place on Tesco Future Farmers foundation to improve his skills further. Unfortunately, due to family circumstances he has had to move back to Lancashire to help his in-laws temporarily on their small family farm and has taken up a more senior role as Technical consultant with his previous employer (National livestock feed company.) Rurai stated that the course gave him confidence to apply for the Farm Manager job and during the last three modules helped him establish himself in a very good position with the estate. Key modules were business management, social media and succession planning.
Ruari also stated that the course increased his passion for farming in his own right and to improve his skills further. He also states that the network of support built up between him and other cohorts has been invaluable for advice and support for new business ideas and during tough personal circumstances. He has remained in contact and continues to promote the course to others and also came to give an after dinner talk to the second cohort on the course benefits. Ruari has a clear goal to one day own or rent a small farm where he can produce food and run a small restaurant serving his own produce as he started his career as a chef before turning to agriculture.
