College options for a keen lad.

Chae1

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
He needs to marry a rich farmer/landowners daughter that has no siblings. Marry into land and money.

Perhaps a reason to stay at ag college. Only bad bit about travelling for too long is when you get back most of the decent girls are paired off, married.
 

Robt

Member
Location
Suffolk
From what I understand need a fair bit of financial backing. Unless changed need to have x £ in the bank to go over. There are college exchanges that can help also
First time you don’t need backing financial , only second time you go you need sponsoring I think.
without Being rude Pete. I think your sons knows exactly what he wants to do so I suggests you back off a little and let him get on with it. Just subtle hints on a Sunday.....
 

Robt

Member
Location
Suffolk
He needs to marry a rich farmer/landowners daughter that has no siblings. Marry into land and money.

Perhaps a reason to stay at ag college. Only bad bit about travelling for too long is when you get back most of the decent girls are paired off, married.
Find an Australian one!
 

4course

Member
Location
north yorks
having said aformal education is important for several years at school I was forced to study in maths ,sines co sines logarithms and how to use a slide rule In languages Latin and other than knowing the latin names of wheat barley oats and wildoats or 4years of French other than une bierre si vous plait , et merci none of which I can ever recall using from the day I left .
agricultural colleges greatest benefit was an education in drinking beer and chasing girls until the chasing stopped and the consumption was curtailed by the lass who caught me ,(mrs 4 course)however I was lucky enough to have a tutor who instilled in me five words ,how why when which where as a way to solve any problem or pass a test/exam carrying 20 marks . In answer to any problem or question ask yourself four questions as follows why you do it ,when do you do it,which do you do , when do you do it and where do you do it ,4x5 = the 20 marks to get top grades ,even now I find it works in business and life in general though tweeked a bit and added who
 

fgc325j

Member
Aye up,

My lad is in his first year of a Level 3 Extended Diploma. He’s doing ok, really well in fact, good grades and we thought he was enjoying it.

I know it’s been a difficult year for many kids, but he’s been lucky, really busy working on a local farm. He absolutely loves it and is there every minute he can be.

In the last few weeks his head has gone down a bit when it comes to college. If we let him, he would not bother going again. We want him to last the course and get the qualification. He doesn’t want to do a degree, which is frustrating because we’re sure he could, but we don’t rule with a rod here, they’ve got to make their own way.

The fact he’s not doing a degree makes him
think the diploma is pointless, but we’re trying to get him to see further.

What options could he have to do something different next year?

We’re adamant he should do something with a qualification at the end. The trouble is he loves “the work”. It’s all he wants to do. He doesn’t want to tell people how to do the work, he just loves doing it himself. And when older he’s adamant he’s going to have his own business (or mine!!!) so won’t need to impress anybody with a piece of paper. All good stuff but we don’t want him to regret it later.

He could do with something to really grab him next year, give him a really interesting challenge.

Any ideas?

Cheers, Pete.
My understanding is - from various articles about farming abroad, that you will need paper qualifications before you can qualify for various schemes.
Taking into account How Arla producers now have to produce proof about any calves they sell, then surely it's only a matter of time before you will
have to "prove" that you are qualified to take over the family farm via paper qualifications.
 
First time you don’t need backing financial , only second time you go you need sponsoring I think.
without Being rude Pete. I think your sons knows exactly what he wants to do so I suggests you back off a little and let him get on with it. Just subtle hints on a Sunday.....

No need for us to back off, we’re not on his case all the time. I think we are encouraging and suggesting rather than telling him.

I know some very successful people who don’t even have an O level to their name. They’ve got there with the right mindset and I’m sure my lad will have that too.

The only thing we are trying to get him to understand is that we don’t give in here. We don’t quit and we carry out what we set out to do. Plus, having gained nearly all top grades in his GCSEs and flying at his Level 3 he could easily do more. So it’s just a case of us trying to cajole him, certainly not force him.

One thing he has to be is happy. It’s no good earning big money or having a prestigious job if he’s unhappy.

I must tell him this evening about a small farm that came up for rent a few years ago. We applied for it. Long story short, in a conversation with the agent I asked if there were any specific requirements and one of the very few were an agricultural qualification. They wouldn’t even consider a tenant without one.

However, years later we were offered this place on the strength of our character and reputation, not a hint of qualification required.

But it can take a long time to build a solid reputation.
 

Robt

Member
Location
Suffolk
No need for us to back off, we’re not on his case all the time. I think we are encouraging and suggesting rather than telling him.

I know some very successful people who don’t even have an O level to their name. They’ve got there with the right mindset and I’m sure my lad will have that too.

The only thing we are trying to get him to understand is that we don’t give in here. We don’t quit and we carry out what we set out to do. Plus, having gained nearly all top grades in his GCSEs and flying at his Level 3 he could easily do more. So it’s just a case of us trying to cajole him, certainly not force him.

One thing he has to be is happy. It’s no good earning big money or having a prestigious job if he’s unhappy.

I must tell him this evening about a small farm that came up for rent a few years ago. We applied for it. Long story short, in a conversation with the agent I asked if there were any specific requirements and one of the very few were an agricultural qualification. They wouldn’t even consider a tenant without one.

However, years later we were offered this place on the strength of our character and reputation, not a hint of qualification required.

But it can take a long time to build a solid reputation.
Sorry Pete, as I said in my PM I didn’t mean it how it came across.
personally I’d try to get some qualifications . It’s easier to get them at his age than it is to get them when he is older. It can also be hood for the social side of farming as he will make some good fiends and connections for life .
 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
I reckon my Agricultural degree was pretty pointless from an educational point of view anyone raised on a farm would have breezed through it especially those who read every farming journal ever published however what a qualification does is it show to others that you have reached a certain level and are employable without my degree I wouldn’t be where I am today not because I am using what I was taught but because it opened doors try getting a job without a qualification when everyone else has one. There are many self made men who never finished school or didn’t go to college but I reckon there are a damn site more stuck in rubbish jobs because they don’t have the qualifications to get a better one. At 16 I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my time than sitting on a tractor nearly 40 years later I still can’t think of a better way to spend my time than sitting on a tractor but it’s my choice no one is forcing me to do it and I stop when I want. If it all goes wrong I may end up being a failed farmer but I’ll be one with a degree who can get a reasonable job. I’ve spent a fortune on my kids education and I don’t begrudge a penny of it the truth of it is college etc is only for a very short period of anyone’s life .
 

Martin Holden

Member
Trade
Location
Cheltenham
It’s been an awful 12 months for students with campuses closed so they haven’t experienced the college life. It was some of the best years of my early life and to do the course without living on site, growing up, having fun just isn’t the same. I would strongly encourage him that theirs a lifetime ahead of him to “work” 1-3 years now is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Hope you can convince him
 

Ceri

Member
Sounds as though you have nothing to worry about........ I really really really wouldn't worry about qualifications they're pointless in the real world all u need is common sense & work ethic & he'll be absolutely fine...... Seriously don't get cut up about degrees etc... The best education he'll ever have is working on different farms. P.s I have a degree....
 

Hilly

Member
My understanding is - from various articles about farming abroad, that you will need paper qualifications before you can qualify for various schemes.
Taking into account How Arla producers now have to produce proof about any calves they sell, then surely it's only a matter of time before you will
have to "prove" that you are qualified to take over the family farm via paper qualifications.
If he wants to work abroad with tractors to get to the very front of the que and basically be begged to go and get more pay than the steering wheel attendants he needs to serve his time as a mechanic , it will get him lots of places.
 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
When we do our EurepGAP and TNC etc audits we have to show all our qualifications. I would think at sometime in the future no qualifications would possibly mean you cannot supply.
 

Danllan

Member
Location
Sir Gar / Carms
If he’s confident let him do what he wants you can always go back to education if you want or need to I don’t think qualifications are worth much in this job
I started my first degree when I was 26, no regrets at all about beginning when I was a 'mature' student; I knew what I wanted to do and did it properly. I had plenty of fun too, but was streets ahead of the youngsters straight out of school when it came to self-discipline - wasn't broke either, having my Army money behind me.
 

TheTallGuy

Member
Location
Cambridgeshire
Personally I think that the best thing would be to encourage him to complete his current studies to the best of his abilities & then have a year out to get a bit of experience elsewhere - abroad if possible. Then re-evaluate the options. After years of being formally educated a break may just give him a lift and focus his mind on where he is going and what he needs to do to get there. Another option may be to volunteer with a charity to get a taste of something outside of his own experience and it looks good on a CV, although the current situation may make that impractical.
 

Longlowdog

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Aberdeenshire
If he's bright he will want to learn in his own time. My lad is bright but was lured by earning cash in a job he liked. A couple of wet winters and he wanted to get back to learning. He now has 2 degrees and is working towards his Masters whilst working.
I'd incentivise your lad to finish what he's started, encourage him to travel with jobs in mind and when he's scratched that itch he will probably see the benefit for himself of taking education further.
 

Sausage

Member
I think the main thing needed when working in agriculture is different perspectives. I would like to say that college would give the most up to date info and encourage thinking outside of the box you are bought up in, but colleges aren’t always trying the latest things for the most effective and efficient organisation as that isn’t what they are there for.
A number of different jobs about the country and working away from home or abroad for a bit will do him the world of good.
 

éire man

Member
Location
Waterford
Get him to serve his time as an electrician or plumber. Best thing I ever did, currently earning €1500 a week after tax as an employee, 50 hours with the the company another 15 hours of my own jobs

A lot of my pals have bullsgit degrees and they're on €600 or so a week answering a phone or stuck in an office

I still have the farm at home if I want to go at it but that won't happen anytime soon.

Patrick
 

Ffermer Bach

Member
Livestock Farmer
I don’t now of course but it was a complete waste of time I’ve never used and I’m in a management role have been since I was 20
many years ago, I was told John Davies of S & A Group, went to Holm Lacey College but gave up as he couldn't see the point, and could not see that the college lecturers could teach him anything, and this is the link to his company now, so I think he was right!

 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
many years ago, I was told John Davies of S & A Group, went to Holm Lacey College but gave up as he couldn't see the point, and could not see that the college lecturers could teach him anything, and this is the link to his company now, so I think he was right!

Yes and I wonder how many others who thought they were too cool for school and are now asking themselves why they didn’t try a bit harder and asking others ‘Do you want fries with that?’
 

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