Two Irish students have been selected to join the Claas Agricultural Apprenticeship scheme and will be trained at Barony College in Scotland.
Jamie Moore Stewart from Erwins and Gavin Whelan from Breen’s Farm Machinery join 22 other students in the scheme.
Of the 24 students who come from Claas dealerships throughout the UK and Ireland, 18 will be conducting their training at Reaseheath in Cheshire, and the remaining six from the North of England, Scotland and Ireland will be studying at SRUC Barony.
According to Claas, the 19 students studying for the Claas Agricultural Technician Apprenticeship at Reaseheath and Barony will work towards achieving the Extended Diploma in Landbased Technology over the next three years.
This high-level vocational qualification is designed to meet the Government’s calling for training programmes that meet employer’s needs.
Apprentices Lawrence Ewart and Alexander Watson (both Rickerby), Ben Hyslop from Gordons and Scott McLaren from Sellars. From Ireland are Jamie Moore Stewart (Erwins) and Gavin Whelan (Farm Machinery).
Claas launched the Parts (Sales and Marketing) Apprenticeship, which is also based at Reaseheath, last year in order to bring into the industry the next generation of young, knowledgeable and experienced parts personnel.
The Claas Agricultural Apprenticeship is provided by IMI Awards, who have worked in conjunction with Claas.
Over the course of their apprenticeship, the apprentices will be continuously assessed for their competence and skills, using both work-based evidence and e-portfolios, Claas stated.
Both sets of apprentices may also be selected to visit the Claas Group headquarters in Harsewinkel, Germany.
They will also spend time training within Claas UK headquarters, at Saxham in Suffolk, giving them an insight into the size and scale of Claas, a global company employing in excess of 11,000 people.
In their final, fourth year, the Technician Apprentices will also undertake additional advanced technical and industry training, so that by the time they qualify they will be eligible for LTA 2 status.