Dalehead increases value of meat industry student scholarships

Posted 28 July 2014

Harper Adams University has welcomed a boost for students pursuing careers in the meat industry, with Dalehead Foods increasing the value of its scholarships scheme. 

Dalehead Foods Scholarships, exclusive to Harper Adams, are awarded to up to two students each year, and provide both financial sponsorship and a guaranteed, paid work placement with the company. Scholars selected this year will receive awards of £4,500 - up from £3,800 last year. 

Commenting on the scholarship, Dalehead Foods’s Divisional HR Manager Joanne Collins said: “Attracting the very best candidates to work in the UK’s food industry is vitally important to ensure its future success.

“We are delighted to be able to increase the funding of our scholarship scheme to further support the great work Harper Adams University does in providing an excellent education to students wishing to enter the industry.”

The Dalehead Foods Scholarship is open to students on agriculture courses at Harper Adams who are interested in a career in pig farm management, lamb procurement, or the meat industry. The awards are made to students in the academic year immediately preceding their sandwich year. 

Scholarships are reviewed at the end of the placement and, subject to the student’s performance, the company may choose to provide financial assistance for the student’s final year of study. Furthermore, successful scholars may also have the opportunity to apply for a place on Tulip’s Graduate Management Training Programme, which offers the opportunity of employment following graduation.  

One of the very first Dalehead scholars, Imogen Radford, who recently completed the BSc (Hons) Agriculture course at Harper Adams University, has already taken up a graduate position within the company. Imogen, 24, from Cambridge, said: “I had a fantastic placement year with Dalehead Foods – the scholarship funding was an added bonus. 

“On placement, I worked within the finishing pig fieldsman team, where I learned about on-farm breeding and grew my practical skills. I also had the opportunity to work within the integrated supply chain at the dedicated abattoir and processing plants. I really enjoyed meeting the farmers supplying BQP and building good working relationships and contacts within the industry.” BQP is the agricultural arm of Dalehead Foods which is a division of the UK’s number one food solutions business, Tulip Ltd. 

Harper Adams University Vice-Chancellor, Dr David Llewellyn, said: “The Dalehead Foods Scholarship scheme has been immensely successful. Those students in receipt of an award have not only received financial assistance, but also a connection, during their studies, to one of the UK’s leading food businesses and a step on the ladder to a career in this fast-moving industry – all of which supports the University’s outstanding record in graduate employability.  We are therefore extremely grateful for the commitment the company has demonstrated to our students and graduates.”