Farmer Jobs Clubs should be mainstreamed

By Kay Kevlihan

Wexford is the only county providing Jobs Clubs specifically designed to meet the needs of farmers considering off-farm employment. Funded by FAS, they are run under the Tus Programme operated by Co Wexford Partnership, the objective being to help farmers deal with the changes affecting their business, to consider alternative sources of employment and to plan for the future.

These Farmer Jobs Clubs are held in local community halls and schools in Co Wexford on a part-time basis over four weeks for 15 hours each week. They are proving extremely popular with the farming community and are aimed at those with an upper income limit of between €13,000 to €15,000 per annum or under 40 hectares.

Along with the practicalities of job application, CV preparation, interview techniques and job hunting, specialist advisers are brought in from Teagasc and the legal profession to discuss topics such as land use, returns, EU entitlements and a broad range of legal issues relevant to farmers. The Jobs Club is part of a wider programme aimed at Co Wexford farmers outlined in last week's Recruitment and Opportunities.

Tus co-ordinator Seamus Codd: "I think it is critical to have a dedicated service such as the Farmer Jobs Club because farming is changing so fast and there is a great interest in off-farm employment. Participants are good, smart people wanting to drive on who may have low levels of confidence and motivation and we instill in them that sense of confidence from the start. They get great satisfaction out of meeting people who are in similar circumstances and that is what is unique about these Farmer Jobs Club.''

One aspect of the programme that is proving particularly popular is the introduction of a solicitor to discuss wills, inheritance, succession planning and other legal issues that effect farmers. "Succession planning in particular is extremely popular as general advice is provided in a non-committal way,'' said Seamus Codd.

Weighing up all the options for farming families looking to the future is fundamental to this programme. Advice on job seeking and educational and training opportunities is provided along with guidance on setting up a business. Researching small business options has already led to participants setting up their own businesses, one with an equine spa facility and another in vermiculture. Since completing the programme others have taken employment or are involved in further training. Participants are referred to appropriate agencies depending on where their interests lie.

Getting out of a stressful situation

Carlow farmer Loughlin Doyle's veterinary and medicine bills went through the roof in 2002 as he tried to sort out the problem of mastitis that gripped his dairy herd.

He was under extreme stress, had tried everything he knew of to solve his problems but to no avail.

He was referred through the IFA to Tus co-ordinator Seamus Codd in the Co Wexford Partnership, "the best thing that every happened to me because I was really down at the time.''

Seamus, accompanied by a Teagasc adviser, met Loughlin on his farm and together they formulated a plan for the future based on a drystock herd and REPS and he has since gone completely out of dairying.

"Seamus also recommended that I join a Jobs Club for farmers which the Partnership was about to run over a six week period so that I could look at job options off the farm. That was a turning point for me,'' said Loughlin.

Loughlin was unaware of entitlements and schemes that people in his circumstances would be legitimately entitled to.

He also discovered that sharing experiences with other people in farming in the Jobs Club lessened the load. "Because everyone in the group was in farming there was a very close bond and trust between us and that was a great help. I had been isolated in my problems, living in a remote area where most people are out at work but in the Farmer Jobs Club we all shared our experiences and problems. That was one of the greatest things that happened to me around that time.''

Loughlin is now in the process of steamlining his farming operation with a view to creating the time he will need to take on a job.

He has already run into problems on the new single payment as it is based on the year 2002 when he was under such serious pressure and was turned down for Force Majeure but he intends to reapply and is confident that he has a case.

"I know it won't be easy holding down a job and running the farm but I now have a new sense of hope. I would strongly recommend any farmer to get in touch with their Area Partnership and find out what they are entitled to. I didn't realise that such help existed.''

Opening up new horizons

"A lot of older farmers feel they just won't exist in the future. They feel completely inadequate and because they cannot make ends meet anymore some of them feel they are not good farmers.

"It is important for them to realise this is not their fault,'' says Mairead Timmins, Jobs Club facilitator with Co Wexford Partnership.

Farmer Jobs Clubs provide an ideal forum for farmers looking ahead to assess the viability of combining farming with an off-farm job, of embarking on an alternative enterprise or of staying with their present position.

Jobs Clubs are one part of a unique comprehensive support package for farmers in Wexford.

Because of her farming background Mairead Timmins can empathise with the variety and sensitivities of issues that emerge in the programme so she insists that anything discussed within the groups stays within the four walls.

"This creates a safe environment where farmers feel free to open up and discuss their problems, and this is important,'' she says.

"Farmers tend to be far more supportive of one another than other groups. They are sincere and open and can empathise with each other.''

There is still a stigma with a lot of older farmers - sometimes their wives - about getting an off-farm job, especially where the farm has provided the sole income from generation to generation.

"They feel they are letting their forebears down or that their neighbours will talk but once they see they are not alone they realise there is nothing wrong in getting an off-farm job.''

Mairead has a lot of experience running Jobs Clubs for long term unemployed and women returning to the workforce but in her experience Jobs Clubs for farmers are different in two aspects.

Firstly, progression into jobs for the former two groups is quicker because that is their sole aim. Important issues for farmers surround time management and weighing up different options and, although they have made the first step by attending a Jobs Club, it could many months before they are ready to make a decision and they may realise they don't want to do anything but farm. Or they may realise there are other ways.

"It won't happen overnight but it is the first step in opening up new horizons,'' Mairead says.