Auction at Gordon Hegarty and Sons Ltd

FTMTA member Gordon Hegarty and Sons Ltd will hold an auction of quality secondhand tractors, farm machinery, parts and more at their premises at Slaneyquarter, Tullow, Co Carlow on Saturday 22 April at 11am. There will be a selection of tractors and a wide variety of grass and tillage implements available as well as special offers in the Stores Department on the day.

The auctioneer will be Michael Doyle Properties and further details and photos of the lots will be available on the Michael Doyle Auctions Facebook page. Viewing will be open at the premises from 9am to 5pm on Friday 21 April, and from 9am to 11am on Saturday 22 April.

Bachelor of Science (agricultural mechanisation)

The application form for this year’s admission to first year of the Bachelor of Science (agricultural mechanisation) course in IT Tralee is now available from the courses section of the IT Tralee website. The courses section is subdivided into various study areas and the course in question can be found within the agricultural and manufacturing engineering area.

The course is a direct entry programme and, to apply for a place on the course, prospective students, in addition to meeting the required educational standard, must have been accepted by a sponsoring farm machinery business who will provide the required work placements. Proof of acceptance by a sponsoring farm machinery business is an essential part of the application process and must be submitted with the completed application form.

This course is the result of co-operation between the college and the farm machinery industry to design and develop an appropriate training scheme for new entrants to the service role in the industry.

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

Based on the number of calls being received by the FTMTA office in recent weeks and the level of interest seen at the Association’s stand at the recent Irish Farmers Journal and open eir Agri Careers Fair, there will be a lot of competition for places on this year’s intake and for that reason FTMTA encourages prospective students to secure a work placement sponsorship as early as possible.

A written request in relation to the required work placement sponsorship should be sent to the dealer principal or to the service manager. This should be followed up by a request to meet in person with the decision maker on such matters in the business. It is the view of the Association that a far better impression will be made on potential sponsors if all contact in this context is made and driven by the student rather than by a parent.