This saw careers editor Mary Phelan joined by a UCD final year student who has completed three internships and two people in their mid 20s who have completed graduate programmes. None of the three are from farms!

Evelyn Garland is a Food and Agribusiness Management student who completed internships in the Irish Farmers Journal, the National Dairy Council (NDC) and Teagasc in Ashtown. During her internship with the NDC, Evelyn was Managing Director of Taste of Dublin, an event which saw 40,000 people goes through its gates in the year Evelyn ran it. In this role she worked with celebrities like Roz Purcell and the Kearney brothers.

Neil worked in meat processor Dunbia through his teenage years and during holidays while a student of economics and management in Queen’s, Belfast. Neil went on to work in an accounting firm after college but decided that accounting wasn’t for him and entered meat processor Dunbia’s graduate programme in 2009. The move to proved a good one as within two years (at the age of 25) Neil was made general manager for Dunbia Primary where 320 people work.

Jean Cotter is the Trade Marketing Manager with responsibility and oversight of all Brand and Customer Support-related activity for Dairygold Food Ingredients Ireland. Jean studied Food Marketing and Entrepreneurship in UCC and entered Dairygold’s graduate programme in September 2013. Jean has organized and managed Dairygold’s involvement in Gulf Food in Dubai for the past three years.

In terms of what they got out of their graduate programmes, Jean and Neil said that gaining confidence from putting yourself out there was a huge benefit. Evelyn says she surprised herself during her three internships with the confidence and communication skills she picked up.

Full coverage: Agri Careers Fair