Eighteen year old Jess Dale, from Essex, is one of the first apprentices to start working and studying under the new EDGE Apprenticeships in Food and Farming programme.

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The industry-led scheme will create hundreds of apprentice placements over the next two years, with Miss Dale being one of the first, starting her placement with Howies & Sons LLP at Wicks Manor Farm near Maldon in Essex.

The placement, which she started just over a month ago whilst studying for a level three apprenticeship in mixed agriculture, see’s her working as an apprentice stockperson on the 200 sow farm.

She said: “Before coming here, I’d never worked with pigs. My grandfather had a farm so I used to spend a lot of time there but I didn’t have a lot of experience.

“I knew that farming was what I wanted to do. I had been studying for a countyside management course and working on a smallholding when I heard about the EDGE scheme at an open day at Easton and Otley College.

“I chose an apprenticeship because I wanted to gain practical experience. At university you get a piece of paper, but don’t necessarily get the practical experience. On an apprenticeship, you get both.”

A typical day on farm for Jess starts at 7.30am, when she has to muck out and feed the pigs. “It’s exciting, interesting and there’s something new every day,” she said.

“The great thing about working here is that I get to see the whole food chain process, from the pigs being born and growing, to the butchery and farm shop. There aren’t many jobs where you get to be involved in something from start to finish like that.”

From September, Jess will attend study days at Easton and Otley College to complete the classroom based training which is required for her apprenticeship. She hopes to complete the apprenticeship in about 18 months, after which she plans to continue working in farming.

Fergus Howie, a partner in Wicks Manor Farm, said: “We were looking to take on a new stockperson – something which is very difficult to find – when Jess came along. The EDGE Apprenticeship scheme allows us to take on a motivated young person and train them to the level we need within our own enterprise.

“Any business is only as good as its staff, so by taking on an apprentice and training them, it can help to bolster the whole business from head to toe and it has also helped motivate our existing members of staff.”

He said that there are many opportunities for young people who want to work in food and farming.

“We are encouraging Jess to take on as much responsibility here as possible, I’ve no doubt that she could become an under manager and continue to progress from there. I think an apprenticeship makes her extremely employable and opens the door to a whole range of fantastic opportunities.”