Top local food group invests in young people for future success

Agri-food company ABP Northern Ireland is encouraging pupils in secondary level education to consider rewarding career opportunities in what is the region’s biggest and most successful industry.

ABP Northern Ireland, part of ABP, Ireland’s global food group, which has substantial operations in Lurgan and Newry, partnered with the Certified Irish Angus (Angus) organisation in the imaginative and inspirational ABP Angus Youth Challenge for 11/14-15-year-olds here.

The challenge offers participants from schools the opportunity to win a range of valuable prizes and a pathway to rewarding careers in agri-food. These include a mini herd of Angus cross calves for student teams to rear and a three-day study tour abroad.

Headquartered at Ardee in Co Louth, ABP Food Group, a processor of beef, which recently won a series of global awards in the World Steak Challenge, has a network of more than 45,000 farmers, contributing £1 billion each year to the rural economies.

The challenge, launched in 2017 by ABP and Angus, is designed to help pupils find out about the many worthwhile agri-food careers, including farming, travel to exciting events with other teenagers, learning and developing new skills, all of which boost self-esteem.

George Mullan, ABP NI’s managing director, explains: “The competition offers a range of opportunities not just for pupils interested in agriculture or who come from a farming family, but also for those that want to stand out from their peers and learn new skills in a practical and fun way with their team-mates and other teenagers.”

Education Minister Michelle McIlveen has called the scheme “a wonderful example of school/employer engagement [which] demonstrates a shared interest in, and shared responsibility for, the future of the young people.”

The challenge has a clear goal of community investment, with the purpose of ‘Standing up for Tomorrow’.

ABP, in particular, recognises the need “to develop employability skills in young people and so offers bursaries, placements, open days and work experience”.

The successful challenge was recently acclaimed by Business in the Community (BIC) in an Education Partnership Award as “an immersive ‘farm-to-fork’ learning experience in food production for teenagers in years 11-12. Students compete via video submissions and exhibitions for a place on a finalist programme, where finalists win a mini-herd of calves to rear through to beef”.

BIC’s citation continued: “The initiative has been structured by ABP with Angus to enable the young people to have fun working on exciting projects that will help with GCSE coursework.”

Mr Mullan continues: “The competition aims to develop team-work, communication, presentation skills, report writing, public speaking, research skills and more. It aligns with learning outcomes in a range of GCSE subjects to support attainment and give teenagers who reach the final stage direct experience and skills in beef production

“Participants can expect to learn about ABP’s farm-to-fork beef production process; build knowledge of the world of work and agri-food production; and gain hands-on experience of rearing Angus beef calves."

Teams that get through to the year-long finalist programme work with a mentor from the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) at Cookstown on research assignments while they rear their calves.

By 2021 30% of all finalists were actively attending an agriculture-related course.