Representatives from the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) have attended a recent agri careers event at Dromore High School.
The ‘Farming Futures’ careers evening brought businesses from across the agricultural sector together to share industry knowledge and insight with school pupils.
Education and consumer promotions manager, Sarah Toland and placement student Bethany Priestley represented the Commission at the event.
Speaking afterwards Sarah said: “The event at Dromore High School brought about positive conversation regarding the ongoing work of LMC. Many pupils were acutely aware of the Northern Ireland Farm Quality Assurance Scheme and the Commission’s education programme.
“It was encouraging to see both GCSE and A Level pupils enthusiastic about career opportunities within agriculture, particularly the red meat industry. We spoke with several pupils who already had clear career aspirations and had an education pathway mapped out. We also elaborated on the differing departments within LMC and shared information about the work staff carry out.”
During the event, LMC distributed many resources highlighting the vast array of careers and many exciting opportunities made available by the red meat industry.
As one of the biggest sectors within the Northern Ireland food and drinks industry, which has grown its sales to over £1.5bn per year, many young people may not appreciate the scale and importance of the beef and lamb sector to the Northern Ireland economy.
LMC marketing and communications manager Lauren Patterson added: “Through our education programme LMC actively engages with approximately ten thousand pupils of varying ages each year. Events such as this allow us to hone in on the career opportunities available within our sector and share knowledge with pupils who are making key decisions on the next step in their educational journey. LMC has a longstanding relationship with the education sector in Northern Ireland and wants to continue to support educators and students from primary school through to third level education moving forward. On behalf of LMC I wish to extend our thanks to Dromore High School for the kind invitation to attend this worthwhile event.”
LMC will continue to highlight red meat industry careers at the upcoming CAFRE Loughry food careers fair on Wednesday 8th March.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
