Have you considered studying at CAFRE, the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise?

CAFRE has three campuses based at Enniskillen, Antrim (Greenmount Campus) and Cookstown (Loughry Campus).  Each campus focuses in a specific range of courses and offers superb practical facilities to support teaching. Each Campus offers residential accommodation in a friendly, caring environment, where you can mix with other students, pursue sporting interests and enjoy yourself.

We can provide a wide range of courses to suit your ability and needs and we offer programmes in Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering, Equine, Food, Floristry, Horticulture, Rural and Countryside Management, Veterinary Nursing and Postgraduate Communication courses with both full and part time options available. Our courses have been designed to help you progress from one level to the next so that you can achieve your full potential.

Our experienced staff working with you and our excellent facilities and links with industry will help to ensure that you gain the necessary skills and knowledge to get your chosen qualification.  What’s more, our close industry links and student learning projects will give you that edge when you start to run your own business or look for jobs. There are a wide variety of jobs available to suit your individual career aspirations and our staff will be able to inform you about these.

We currently have vacancies in our:

Rural & Countryside Management

Food

Horticulture (including Floristry)  

Communication

All of these courses for entry September 2009.

If you would like to pursue a career in these areas then why not investigate the range of courses that are available at CAFRE. For more information contact us on freephone 0800 0284291, or click here to find courses that suit you. Better still, why not come along to our Careers Advice Evenings to meet our staff and get a real feel for the courses and find out how they could be of benefit to you?  See you there!

Do you enjoy investigating natural habitats, flora and fauna?  Do you wish to gain practical countryside management skills?  Are you interested in the opportunity to transfer to a degree course?  If your answer to the above questions is yes, then the Foundation Degree /Certificate in Higher Education (Cert HE) in Rural and Countryside Management (RCM) is the course for you. The course is taught at Greenmount Campus, in conjunction with the University of Ulster. This course is a practical and applied course of 2/4 years in duration, depending on the pathway chosen.

The course is offered on both a full-time and part-time basis (Cert HE part-time basis only).  Part-time provision is offered on a day release basis so that employers/employees of environmental or other related organisations can avail of the opportunity to study while their business can still function efficiently.

The course covers a diverse range of subjects including Business Management, Environmental Science, Rural Business Opportunities, Applied Countryside Management, and includes a work placement.

Opportunities exist for students to secure employment after graduation as Wardens, Rangers and Countryside Officers.

Alan Silcock, a recent graduate, is currently employed by the National Trust as a warden at Strangford Lough, managing over 14,700 acres of foreshore and seabed.  Alan recommends the course highly,   “The RCM course has a good mix of theory and practical sessions. The lectures were excellent. The opportunity to gain short course qualifications in areas such as chainsaw operations and first aid were extremely useful in helping me to secure my new job. I can now put my knowledge and skills into practice, in my role in the National Trust.”

Alan Silcock a recent Rural and Countryside Management graduate manages Strangford Lough for the National Trust.

Enjoyable courses, great career prospects and a vibrant campus life....? must be Loughry Campus, Cookstown. There has never been so much interest in food as now and the Northern Ireland food industry is a vibrant progressive sector seeking creative, motivated and talented graduates who can deliver success.

At Loughry you won’t spend three years sitting in a lecture theatre with hundreds of other students. Our courses are hands-on with a blend of seminars, lectures, practicals, factory visits and assignments. This means that Loughry graduates can hit the ground running and because of this, they are very much in demand. Don’t worry - our students know how to enjoy themselves outside the classroom as well, with many industry captains having fond memories of their escapades while studying at Loughry.

We offer a wide range of food courses including Nutrition and Health, Food Technology, Design and Nutrition, Food Management and Marketing all aimed at equipping individuals with the right qualifications and the necessary skills to land that vital job. Our Honours Degrees and Foundation Degrees which are validated by the University of Ulster can be studied either full or part-time, so there is something to suit everyone.

Our results speak for themselves, with over 98 percent of degree students gaining employment or progressing onto further education within six months of graduating. Take a look at what Loughry can offer – challenging careers with starting salaries up to £22,000, no top-up fees and competitively priced accommodation on campus.

Luke McGovern (Bangor) and Deborah Murphy (Armagh) celebrating their successes at Loughry Campus Awards Ceremony after achieving their Foundation Degrees in Food Manufacture and Food, Nutrition and Health respectively.

Ever hankered after a career that is outdoors requires practical, technical, creative and business skills?  If so Horticulture could be the career for you.  

The horticulture foundation degrees integrate practical hands-on-training with business and managerial skills to train people to work in industry. This is achieved by providing practical training through a period of directed work placement in industry.  All first year horticulture students will follow a common programme for the first semester and then they will be able to choose between landscape management, amenity or sports turf management pathways.  In the final year students undertake a learning-by-doing project, which helps to link the various strands of the course and develop employability skills.

Full-time or Part-time?

The Foundation degree course is offered on both a full-time and part-time basis (two years full-time, four years part-time).  Part-time provision is offered on a day release basis.  The course covers a diverse range of subjects including plant knowledge, science, design, maintenance and management, construction and planting of gardens and green spaces.  Additionally if anyone wishes to leave after one year, and is in good academic standing, they will be awarded a Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE) qualification.  The Certificate of Higher Education can also be achieved through the part-time study route.

The course also offers students the potential to gain an array of additional qualifications.  Examples of these include First Aid, ECDL, PA1 and PA6 certification.

Progression opportunities.

On completion of the course students have the option of progressing to the University of Ulster to ‘top-up’ to an Honours Degree or go to a university in England. Moyra Black who graduated from CAFRE in June 2008 has just gained a 2.1 Honours Degree from the University of Essex.

Job Opportunities

There are numerous opportunities for graduates, which include Landscape managers, Landscape contractors, Lecturers, Garden designers, Plant growers and Professional gardeners.

Many students also set up their own business. Kyle Reid, from Belfast, graduated in June 2007 and he immediately set up his own landscaping business, The Landscape Company (N.I.) Ltd. offering a design and build, planting and maintenance service to domestic and commercial clients. “The horticulture programme provided me with the skills and knowledge base that I couldn’t have got anywhere else in Ireland. The College offered me the opportunity to explore the entire horticulture industry supported by practical learning, outstanding tutorial staff and top class facilities. I can honestly say that selecting the horticulture course and going to Greenmount was the best decision I have ever made. So if you  are interested in managing or working in a garden centre or nursery, or wish to become a garden designer or landscaper, then make a start to a rewarding career by studying the right course at Greenmount.”

Moyra Black, who graduated from CAFRE in June 2008 with a Foundation degree in Horticulture and who has now successfully gained an Honours Degree from the University of Essex.

Are you creative, artistic, good with your hands have an eye for colour and don’t want a desk job? Then floristry could be just the career for you.

This is a practical, work related course designed to give students a broad understanding and appreciation of the floristry industry. It is equally suitable for school leavers and mature students (career changers). You can study one academic year full time (four days in College plus Fridays on placement with a retail florist) or one day per week for three years (if you are already employed in an established floristry business).

The course combines creative and business skills.  It suits those who enjoy dealing with people and who might want eventually to operate their own business.

Several past students now run successful businesses and some provide work experience for current students. The course covers design (hand-ties, funeral work, wedding bouquets and accessories) as well as other aspects – identification & care of cut flowers, business management, ICT, legislation & customer care.

Floristry is a worldwide profession with great opportunities, especially if you are willing to travel.  Several past CAFRE students are currently working abroad.

Amy Holdsworth from Dungannon who graduated in June with a National Certificate in Floristry.

Do you look up the job pages and worry that you cannot provide the wow factor when employers ask for “good communication skills”?  If so why not come along to Loughry Campus Open Day at Cookstown on Thursday 27 August between 3 and 8 p.m. and find out how the MSc in Communication could be just what you have been looking for. Whether you have just completed your degree and are looking for that “something extra” to add to your CV in the elusive job hunt or if you are currently in employment and looking to add to your skill set or increase your promotion prospects, this is a great chance to check out what the MSc in Communication has on offer!

Dr Roy Nelson, Course manager reflected on the course benefits “It has been well documented that this year’s graduates are experiencing a tough job market and there has been an increase in applications for MSc programmes all over the country. Our full-time course is practically based so when you go for interview you can talk about your experiences during the course, for example delivering training or organising a conference where you are able to apply the theory to real life examples”.

The Postgraduate Communication course is a Queen’s University of Belfast course, delivered at Loughry Campus Cookstown, with options available in Training & Development for Rural Business and Strategic Management for Rural Business. It is available on a full and part-time basis and although the course is designed to increase the skills and competencies of those working in or seeking a career in the agri-food and rural business sectors, it is open to all students as communication skills are transferable to any job.

Sharon Haynes (Coalisland), Frances McMahon (Dungannon), Lorraine McKnight (Newry) and Heather Spratt (Dungannon) helping to remove the communication overload from Course Manger, Dr Roy Nelson.