Oliver Moore: Apprentices gain valuable insights at OGI apprenticeship scheme
"Last year’s pilot scheme was completed by five apprentices, most of who are staying on in the sector,” co-ordinator Jason Horner tells me. Of those staying in the sector, one is also considering establishing her own business.
This year’s programme sees more farms and more potential apprentices. Even before starting, there were “20 expressions of interest for this year’s programme”, the Clare-based grower says.
It is also likely that there will be some new host farms. “We’ll have up to nine farms, some taking two people. In total, there will be 12 apprenticeships this year.”
Moycullen’s Cáit Curran has been a certified organic grower for 20 years, and became certified biodynamic two years ago.
“I was part of the organising group, we discussed the need for it, put it together and made an application to the department to administer it. So I was involved right from start.
We try to give them the range of places to choose from, so we offer them larger field scale and smaller intensive set ups. The hosts are spread around the country as much as is feasible. This year, we hope to have a grower further down into the south.”
“The feedback from the apprentices and the growers has been very good overall. It went really well — there was the odd glitch but overall we’re very happy with it,” she says.
Curran herself took one. Her Galway location is “a small hill farm on fairly poor ground, with a mix of protected corps and outdoor growing. It’s quite hands on and not too mechanical here. We grow on ridges in typical west of Ireland fashion.”
Apprentice Josie Carlin started last year and is now staying on as an employee with Curran for, at least, 2015.
“Josie is very motivated and very interested. We discussed it before the apprenticeship finished. I wanted someone full time, and it suits both of us.”
For sales, Curran primarily does two local markets including the Galway market. This too has been part of the apprentice’s experience: “Josie also does the market with me; between that and the farm, harvesting, sales, delivery and so on there’s been a wide range of experiences.”
In many ways, when work experience is uneventful , that’s a positive. With bureaucratic delays, the whole initiative “started a little late last year so it was a little condensed: a lot of training days and days off the farm had to happen, as is part of the apprenticeship. This is grand but more disruptive than it would otherwise me, if we’d started earlier,” said Curran.
Overall though, Curran said: “I was pleasantly surprised how it worked out — it was very straightforward. I’ve had ‘Woofers’ and work experience people and that doesn’t always work out so well. We were prepared for everything.
"It’s important to be up front and honest from the start, so everyone knows what each other’s expectations are.”
This year’s scheme starts earlier so the issues with a late start, and essentially missing out on the beginning of the growing season, will not occur.
The work placement will involve a minimum of 30 hours a week work over a six-month period, as well as six workshops, six farm walks and a 25 hours block course. This focuses on organic principles, standards and certification with the apprentices producing a conversion plan for an organic enterprise.
For more see www.organicgrowersireland.org
