EDGE apprenticeships

Oct 13, 2014

Shaping the future of Food and Farming

WWOOF UK’s attention has recently been drawn to EDGE Apprenticeships in Food and Farming. This industry-led scheme aims to Educate, Develop, Grow and Employ young people, equipping them with the skills they need to succeed.

Since they began in April 2013, EDGE has matched over 260 apprentices in successful placements. There are now EDGE apprentices working in all areas of food and farming, from horticulture to livestock, and EDGE is keen to make further steps in organic farming.

Whilst the project began in Norfolk and Suffolk and is now concentrated mainly in the East of England (Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Hertfordshire and Essex) the team is willing to offer assistance to those wanting to set up apprenticeships elsewhere.

EDGE works with both employers and apprentices. Work with the employers consists of advertising their apprenticeship vacancies, assisting them through the interview process and then with the financial elements that come with taking on an apprentice. They also assist young people who are looking for apprenticeships and help to match them with relevant employers. The apprentices then spend one day a week at a training provider, either Easton & Otley College or Poultec.

EDGE is passionate about encouraging the younger generation to consider careers in food and farming and work with young people between the ages of 16 and 24. Apprenticeships enable young people to earn money while learning and gain valuable work experience and an industry-recognised qualification. Apprenticeships are also a great way for employers to train a young person to become a competent employee who can fit perfectly within a team. Their hope is that apprenticeships are helping to train the young generation and secure the future of the food and farming industry.

EDGE is also helping to raise the profile of food and farming in general, by training industry ambassadors to visit schools and youth groups in order to share their firsthand experience of working in agriculture. More than eighty ambassadors have been trained across the East of England.

EDGE Project Co-ordinator Ann Steward said: ‘Getting the message out to young people about how many opportunities there are in the food and farming sector is essential. Having real people, who can talk about real jobs, is invaluable and it’s the perfect way to educate young people about career options.’

To find out more about becoming an ambassador, and for details of the latest vacancies through EDGE, visit www.edgeapprenticeships.org or call 01603 881966.

Classifieds – Autumn Equinox ’23

Classifieds – Autumn Equinox ’23

Welcome to the WWOOF UK Classifieds section. Here, you can find postings from members and other friends of WWOOF UK regarding opportunities, job listings, property advertisements and more. Have something you’d like listed in our Classifieds section? Send us an...

Hive mind – letters to the editor – Autumn Equinox ’23

Hive mind – letters to the editor – Autumn Equinox ’23

Do you have a question for the ‘hive mind’? Do you have any answers to these questions? Do you have any top tips you want to share? Feel free to email the editor – editor@wwoof.org.uk Slugs galore! The latest question for the hive mind is...

Seasonal recipe – Autumn Equinox ’23

Seasonal recipe – Autumn Equinox ’23

Parsley Pesto Do you have a glut of parsley? We don't have enough customers for our luscious crop of parsley so we're enjoying it in bulk! But maybe you have a plant that's gone a bit mad in your greenhouse or herb garden and want to prune it back? Serves: 4 + •...

Barn to be wild

Barn to be wild

An opportunity to live in the Brecon Beacons Ten years ago I bought a dilapidated stone barn high on a hill in mid-Wales. I had been visiting the area for several years, staying in my campervan, walking and exploring. I started to look for somewhere to make a more...

The joy of reciprocity

The joy of reciprocity

By Sue Pritchard My WWOOFing relationship started at a tough point in my life. Newly divorced, a single parent, with caring responsibilities for my own parents, and running another business off the farm, I was hugely relieved that I had managed to keep the farm - our...