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CAFRE

Niall Trainor – CAFRE Alumni

My name is Niall Trainor and I completed the Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma in Land-based Engineering at CAFRE, Greemmount Campus in 2019. I have always had an interest in mechanical work and engineering from an early age so the Land-based Engineering course at CAFRE ticked all the boxes for me.  

The Level 3 Land-based Engineering course is well structured with a good mix of practical and theoretical applications. This is further reinforced with one day per week on work placement which starts in the second semester of first year and which I completed in a local engineering company that I had worked for before I started the course.  

I have always enjoyed the practical aspect of working with machinery and my time at CAFRE has really helped to develop and enhance my skills. The course is mainly taught in the excellent Machinery and Buildings Centre at Greenmount Campus which is available to all engineering students for their practical classes. The state of the art equipment available ensures the best possible learning experience enabling me to ‘learn by doing’. 

At the end of the course I was awarded the Redrock cup for Engineering in recognition of my overall performance.  

Having graduated with a Level 3 qualification, I am now employed as a Service Engineer, working on a range of agricultural machinery such as tractors, shear grabs, bale spikes and pallet toes. The course units on electrics, electronics and workshop processes have really helped me for this role. I am also getting to experience the latest technology in tractors and their associated equipment which I find interesting. I am keen to progress my skills further and I have enrolled on a specialised coded welding course. I also hope to travel and gain work experience further afield in the near future.  

Overall, I have enjoyed my time spent at CAFRE and I would recommend this course to anyone with a practical ability and an interest in mechanical work combined with agricultural and land-based machinery. It will equip you with employability skills for life and has superb facilities. To find out more, visit the CAFRE website (www.cafre.ac.uk) and follow DiscoverCAFRE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.