Who will be United Kingdom's top trainee this year?

Closing date for entries: July 1, 2008

Last year the Pfizer Trainee-of-the-Year Award went national, in association with Pig World. It proved an outstanding success.

This year’s winner will get prizes worth over £2,500, including an engraved trophy, a cash prize, a tailor-made training programme of his or her choice, and a day and night in London to attend a high-profile presentation ceremony in Whitehall.

The award is open to all pig unit personnel in the United Kingdom who can demonstrate they are embracing training opportunities to further their career and improve performance on their pig unit. As they did last year, the organisers stress that neither age nor experience (or lack of it) are barriers to winning. The judges will be looking for people who are using training to forge a rewarding professional career in a professional industry.

Newcomers have as good a chance of winning as more experienced employees. And remember, the award is not about writing reams of information for the judges. All they want from entrants are a (very) few words. Everything else will be done at interview.

There is another important point. The interview process is not scary; the judges are experienced, practical pig industry people. If you’re thinking of entering, remember... THEY ARE ON YOUR SIDE!

Founded six years ago and supported from day one by Pfizer, the Trainee-of-the-Year competition quickly caught the industry’s imagination.

"I have always found it an emotional experience when presenting the award," said National Pig Association chairman Stewart Houston, who was chairman of judges last year. "These talented young people represent our hopes and aspirations for the future. It is wonderful to see their commitment to the industry."

"There are many talented people in this industry and this is an opportunity for them to add the industry’s most prestigious training award to their curriculum vitae," said Pfizer Animal Health product manager Emmeline Randall.

"Pfizer has always taken considerable pride – and pleasure – in sponsoring this award because it represents everything that is good about the United Kingdom pig industry – particularly its growing commitment to skilling-up."

In reality, young people on pig units are often too modest to put themselves forward for the competition unless they are given a nudge by colleagues of their employer. This isn’t a problem because some of the county’s leading producers compete to have one or more of "their people" in the finals each year.

They have found that when a pig farming business gains a reputation for being committed to training it is much easier to attract high-calibre staff.

“I urge Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland producers to make sure that England doesn’t walk off with the award every year,” said Pig World editor Sam Walton. “I have always applauded the exceptional stockmanship to be found on British pig units and in today’s demanding industry this means good, relevant, on-going training.”

The organisers of the Pfizer Trainee-of-the-Year Award are keen to pay tribute to the award’s founders.

"From day one both Pfizer and Pig World have been admirers of the foresight and can-do attitude of Agskills members. We appreciated the trust they placed in us last year, when they asked us to be the award’s custodians for the future," said Pig World publisher Digby Scott.

Both Pfizer and Pig World acknowledge the continuing support of NPA, particularly its chairman, Stewart Houston.

Aims of the Pfizer Trainee of the Year Award

• To encourage technical excellence through training in the United Kingdom pig industry.

• To demonstrate pig industry professionalism to retailers, government and consumers.

• To reward initiative and endeavour on United Kingdom pig units.

• To recognise the contribution of forward-looking employers committed to the training and development of their staff.

Last year’s winner of the award was 25-year-old Paul Hume, who is pictured above with his wife Marie receiving his award at The Farmers Club from food and farming minister Lord Rooker.Paul worked for a supermarket for several years, before deciding that working with pigs would be more rewarding. He joined Bowes of Norfolk in December 2003 and made full use of training opportunities available in-house and through East of England Pig Training Group. As Trainee-of-the-Year 2007 he demonstrates the British pig industry can be quick to recognise and fast-track its rising stars, because today he manages a five-man team at Bowes’ 1,000-sow unit at Bircham in North Norfolk.

The Pfizer Trainee of the Year Award is organised by Pfizer in association with Pig World, and with the support of NPA.

 

 l NPA Trade Directory l Mechanical data l National Pig Association l Defra l BBC weather l
l Environment Agency l Food Standards Agency l Quality Meat Scotland l Scottish Executive l

Pig World , PO Box 100, Benniworth, Market Rasen LN8 6LE, United Kingdom