The Green Cert is set to be overhauled, according to the Head of Teagasc Gerry Boyle.
Speaking this week at the Teagasc/ FBD Student of the Year awards, Teagasc Director Gerry Boyle said that “the current education programme in Teagasc must be fit for the next 30 years,as it was for the past 30 years.”
Boyle said that a strategic vision group, which is reviewing the education offering from Teagasc, will complete its review this autumn and report back with its recommendations.
He also said that the agricultural education Teagasc provides must be designed for use and fit for purpose for the next 30 years. “We need to shape an education system that will serve for the next 30 years”.
Green Cert Criticism
The Green Cert has been used by thousands of young people in recent years to supplement their education to allow them quality for farming schemes and grants, but it has come in for severe criticism from the Farm Managers Association.
It said that the current course does not equip people with enough skills to become successful farmers and needs to be changed.
Chairman of the Association, John Fitzgerald said last year that there is widespread concern across the dairy industry at the skill level of young people entering the dairy industry.
According to Teagasc, there has been exceptional demand for adult Green Cert programmes over the last two years. Almost 4,500 students have been enrolled in Teagasc part-time and distance learning Green Cert programmes since late 2014.
Under the Government’s Programme for Government, the Green Cert is to be reviewed to ensure it is fit for purpose.