This means that in 2016, approximately one in every five people who applied for a role within the company got a job.

This is according to Valerie Farrell, the HR manager of Teagasc who was speaking at an Agricultural Science Association (ASA) event in Citywest Hotel on Monday night.

Statistics shared at the event for job positions in 2015 show that of the 235 people who applied for jobs with the company in that year, 47 gained permanent positions and 20 gained temporary positions.

This means that in 2015, approximately one in every three people who applied for a role was successful. It highlights that competition for roles within the organisation between 2015 and 2016 has jumped.

Teagasc will be recruiting at the Agri Careers Fair in the RDS on the 30 March and will be looking for agricultural development officers in the areas of advisory and education for a national advisory panel they are establishing.

Representatives of the company will be available to lend advice and talk about the positions they will be recruiting for.

Of the 198 people who applied for jobs last year, 91 were called for interview and 75 were panelled, with 37 of these becoming employed.

Teagasc uses a marking system to shortlist applications and those with the highest marks are called for interview. Marks are awarded for a 2.2, 2.1 and 1.1 degree for having studied critical subjects and relevant experience.

Interviews are competency based, which means the company tries to find out what skills and experiences you have that the company needs. Sinead English, an expert in career planning who runs the career management services company Hilt – Back Yourself, gave the Irish Farmers Journal tips here on how to prepare for such interviews .

Based on how you perform during this type of an interview, you receive marks and are ranked, with the highest ranking getting a job offer first. Location is also considered with job offers in Teagasc.

At the minute, the company is advertising for 11 positions, with some of the deadlines closing before the Agri Careers Fair and more opportunities arising between now and then.

To give a flavour of what the company offers, some of the jobs Teagasc is currently looking to fill include an ICT applications analyst in Carlow, a research officer in the Teagasc food research centre in Ashtown, Dublin, and a post-doctoral researcher in crop disease diagnostics in Carlow.

More information about these jobs can be found on the Teagasc website.

Agri Careers 2017 will take place on Thursday 30 March 2017 in the RDS Main Hall, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, brought to you by the Irish Farmers Journal and open eir. Click here for more information.

Click here to register for Agri Careers 2017