Bright Crop launches first cross industry website to help young people consider careers in farming and food supply.
Bright Crop is the first ever dedicated portal for young people to explore the vast array of career opportunities in the industry. It aims to inspire positive perceptions of agriculture and the associated sectors.
Research carried out by Bright Crop with over 1,500 young people, found that 96% said they would not consider a career in agriculture because they believed that jobs were low paid, boring, dirty, repetitive and old fashioned.
Bright Crop aims to address this assumption by enabling young people (aged 14-18), teachers and parents to explore the wide range of interesting and exciting job roles and opportunities in the farming and food supply sector, get tips from the experts and plan routes to a career in farming and food supply.
The website provides a number of case studies covering the diverse range of jobs available. For example, it highlights the variety of academic backgrounds such as science, technology, engineering and maths, which can lead to careers in agriculture. It also explores opportunities in other areas, such as communications, business management, languages, growing things, caring for livestock or design.
The farming and food supply industry is a growing sector and it has been estimated that a minimum of 60,000 new entrants are needed to by 2020. Furthermore, challenges around food security, resource scarcity, climate change and the pace of technology mean that it is more important than ever for agriculture to attract top quality talent not just in hands-on farming, but all the ancillary services that support it.
Bright Crop is a cross-industry initiative developed by the charity Business in the Community, managed by FACE, and supported by a collaboration of organizations including the NFU, AHDB and AIC. Bright Crop aims to change perceptions of agriculture and attract more young people into this highly skilled, professional and progressive sector.
David Yiend, Chairman of Bright Crop and Chief Executive of AB Agri, said: “We all know that our industry is often misunderstood and Bright Crop is all about tackling perceptions in order to attract the brightest and best young talent to our world of work. This new generation of talent is essential if we are to meet the emerging global challenges. Bright Crop’s mission is to inspire young people to make a career choice that is both stimulating and rewarding by talking their language and helping them see the range of exciting careers on offer.”
“A crop of bright, talented and driven young individuals is pivotal to the future success of every business within farming and food supply. Bright Crop requires everyone to shoulder their responsibility and support this initiative in whatever way they can, as an ambassador, as a case study or through sponsorship. Without our sponsors none of this could have been achieved and further support from all areas would be most welcome so we can achieve our long term goals to bring a wealth of talent to our industry.”
David Fursdon, Chairman of Defra's Future of Farming Review, said: “We are delighted to see Bright Crop and FACE working together in such a professional way to help inspire young people about opportunities in farming and food. We encourage others with initiatives in this area to support them and work with them wherever possible”.
Alongside the website, Bright Crop aims to build a network of 1,000 Bright Crop STEM Ambassadors. These volunteer Ambassadors from all areas of the farming and food supply industry are asked to visit local schools to encourage and inform young people about careers in the industry that they may not have considered.
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