The much-anticipated FTMTA Farm Machinery Show 2017 proved to be the largest and most successful such event ever, with a total of nearly 21,000 visitors to Punchestown over three days.

On the Thursday night of the show a number of awards were presented to the three students with the best results in the first year of the initial intake into the Bachelor of Science (Agricultural Mechanisation) degree in IT Tralee.

These awards were jointly sponsored by the FTMTA and the Irish Farmers Journal and were presented to Gerard Donovan (placement sponsored by Cork Farm Machinery, Carrigrohane Road, Cork), Padraig Carroll (placement sponsored by Nunan Farm Machinery, Broadford, Co Limerick) and Tomas O’Rourke (placement sponsored by Templetuohy Farm Machinery – Laois, New Inn, Portlaoise, Co Laois). These students are now all in second year and are on placement with their respective sponsoring machinery firms.

The association has been heavily engaged in recent years on the development of a new training route for prospective service people coming into the industry.

This culminated in the introduction in 2015 of the Bachelor of Science (Agricultural Mechanisation) course in IT Tralee as a higher education option.

Cooperation

This course has been developed through cooperation between the college and industry to deliver a programme tailored to meet the requirements of the modern farm machinery industry for highly skilled service technicians who can deal with the rapidly evolving technical challenges of today’s agricultural mechanisation technology.

The first intake of students commenced the course in September of 2015 and this autumn will see the first year that there will be students at all stages of the degree programme.

The course is a mix of college-based learning and work placement over three years, with the student required to carry out a substantial body of online learning when on work placement.

IT Tralee lecturers were on hand during the show, with a stand focusing on new degree course and spoke with many second level students interested in pursuing a career as service technicians supporting cutting-edge farm mechanisation.