Poultry placements for agriculture students

Posted 20 October 2010

Harper Adams is continuing to champion the poultry industry and address the skills gap by helping students to gain scholarships with top companies.

The University College in Shropshire has teamed up with the British Poultry Council (BPC), which for the first time has brought many top industry names together to offer students the chance to obtain a scholarship.

The British Poultry Council Scholarship, formerly the PD Hook Scholarship, will offer grants to outstanding students who are considering a career in the agriculture and food production sectors. These are open to those studying a foundation degree, diploma or who are in their second year of a BSc (Hons) degree.

Successful students will have a paid placement year and up to £3,500 per year towards their tuition fees for the year’s either side of the placement.

Industry giants including Aviagen, Bernard Matthews, Cranberry Foods and PD Hook were all at Harper Adams last week to talk to students about the individual scholarships they were offering.

Peter Furlong, Managing Director and Owner of Vencomatic and sponsor of the scholarship event, opened proceedings and said there is huge scope in the poultry industry and some very exciting and dynamic companies looking for key employees.

Mr Furlong highlighted how fast the world’s population is growing and said that cheap protein was the way to feed the growing numbers.

Principal Business Management and Marketing Lecturer at Harper Adams, Trish Parrott, addressed students and said: “This is a really good opportunity for you to have a look at these companies and see if there is something for you.

“They are all international companies under the banner of the British Poultry Council.”

Richard Griffiths, Senior Executive Officer at the British Poultry Council said 75 per cent of the UK poultry industry was represented at the scholarship fair at Harper Adams.

He said: “It’s about us as an industry presenting ourselves to potential employees. We are a £3.5billion a year industry. We need more quality people coming through.

“Harper Adams is the type of place where we will find these industry leaders. Harper has kept with the industry over the years and we are delighted to give something back in the form of a scholarship.”