Fullwood Packo is looking for technicians and dealers. The company is a designer, manufacturer and supplier of milking systems and milk storage equipment, with a head office based in Kanturk, Co Cork.
Technicans
In terms of the number of technicians the company is taking on, Fullwood Packo says it depends on the applications and the areas they come in from.
“We’re looking for someone for ourselves – someone specialised in electronics or the herd management side of the business,” says Fullwood Packo general manager Brian Ahearn.
“Some of our dealers around the country will also take on technicians.”
In terms of exactly where the jobs are located, Brian says to look at where the cows are, meaning the roles are located in Ireland’s dairy heartland – from down in west Cork up the Midlands, but he also notes that “sometimes you’ll find more automation in places where there aren’t as many cows”.
Those with an electrical, electronic or engineering qualification are sought for the technician role. Brian says candidates don’t necessarily need to have a Level 8 degree in this area as they will be trained, but “it’s about how fast they’ll pick it up”.
When Country Living asks if ag science graduates would be considered for the roles, he says they “wouldn’t ever say never”.
However, why is Fullwood Packo recruiting in a climate where milk prices are so low? Surely this is not a time of huge demand for employees in the dairy equipment industry?
“People are expanding in the long term. They might batten down the hatches for 12 months but we are getting a lot of good, real inquiries.
“It’s more critical to have people at this time and train them.”
Brian does note, however, that the biggest problem at the moment in this regard is “the banks are looking at milk prices”.
In terms of remuneration for the technician positions, Brian says: “It depends totally on the level of quality we get in. It will be more than apprenticeship wages – it depends on the level of experience and competence of the person.”
While experience working on a dairy farm is an advantage, Brian says he has “seen very good people come in out of the woodwork with not much experience but a good level of personal interest.
“It’s more important that they have a desire to learn and stick at it. It’s about the ethic of the person, the hunger for this part of the business – it’s a bit of a vocation in a way. The person has to want to learn and get stuck in. And we want a good communicator; they also have to be practical – common sense is a big part of it.”
Fullwood Packo is also looking for more dealers to take on their products throughout the country.
“They might be electricians with their own businesses who want to branch into ag or dairy,” he says.
Application system for Susi opens
The Student Universal Support Ireland (Susi) online application system for the 2016/17 academic year is now open.
Susi looks after the allocation of student grants in Ireland and last Thursday opened its online application system for new and renewal student grants for the 2016/17 academic year.
Now in its fifth year of operations, Susi processed over 108,000 applications last year with in excess of 83,000 students (new and renewal) awarded grants for the 2015/16 academic year.
It is expected the number of applications to Susi for this coming academic year will surpass 110,000, which is partly why applications are being accepted two weeks earlier this year than last.
A useful tool that can be accessed on the Susi website is the online grant eligibility recorder where students can answer a short set of questions following which they will be given an indication as to their eligibility for student grant funding before making their applications, and students are encourage to use this on www.susi.ie prior to making their applications.
Eircode is also being used to streamline the calculation of distance. Susi says this will help speed up the processing of applications.
The closing date for the prioritising of renewal applications is 6 June 2016 and is 8 July 2016 for new applications.
SHARING OPTIONS