Students planning for degree-level study in Agri-Tech or Horticulture at Pershore College could soon be earning alongside their undergraduate studies.
Through the Worcestershire-based GrowAgri project (funded by the European Regional Development Fund), Warwickshire College Group (WCG) is able to offer a number of paid industrial placements to students at Pershore College, of particular relevance for those wishing to study Agri-Tech (Horticulture) at foundation degree level.
These placements could run alongside the students’ studies and involve them assisting with research, projects and operational activities in the college’s sector-leading Agri-Tech Centre.
Professor Roy Kennedy, who heads up Pershore College’s Agri-Tech Centre and its research, commented: “This is a great opportunity for students to gain valuable experience of work in the Agri-tech sector, working on leading-edge projects, whilst at the same time earning a wage to help offset the cost of their studies.”
Tom Genever is a student at Pershore College who has already benefited from this scheme, starting on a paid placement in January this year whilst still completing his Level 3 Horticulture course, prior to starting the foundation degree this September.
He said: “This placement has given me an opportunity to get hands-on experience of new technology being used in the horticulture sector and has given me a fantastic insight into the future of growing in the UK. It has been really interesting to see and help with experiments in areas like hydroponics and to see the processes which are gone through to refine the technology.
“This kind of work experience has been an opportunity which I may not have been able to get anywhere else when studying at this level, so has been very valuable. I’d recommend it to anyone planning a career in horticulture.”
Aspiring students looking to take up these paid work placements as part of their foundation degree in either Agri-Tech (Horticulture) or Arboriculture will initially need to apply via UCAS and be accepted on the course.
Anyone interested should contact the agri-team for more details about the content of the potential work placements at [email protected].