There is a range of high-quality jobs at this year’s Agri Careers Fair. There are as many jobs for those in mid-level and senior positions as there are for those who are just out of college. IFAC, for example, will be looking for 20 fully qualified accountants at this year’s fair, while the remaining 10 positions will be for graduates and trainees.

IFAC

IFAC, which is a farming specialist accountants and tax adviser group, says it normally recruits on a two-third/one-third basis – two thirds of those it takes on are mid- to senior-level accountants, while one third are normally graduates. IFAC targets colleges for graduates but is coming to the Agri Careers Fair to find a different type of candidate – mid- to senior-level people with at least three to four years of experience in a practice.

Mary Phelan, who is group marketing executive with IFAC, says the nature of the industry means it is difficult to get accountants at the moment. Mary says accountants come to IFAC when they don’t want to be based in Dublin any longer – when they want to be back home in the country. “A selling point for us is they can be based in their locality,” says Mary.

Dairygold

Dairygold is another employer at the Agri Careers Fair looking for candidates with experience. At least two to three years’ experience in a similar role is required for most of the positions Dairygold is recruiting to fill at the fair.

Dairygold is recruiting for a lead buyer and a group central warehouse manager among other positions at its Mitchelstown facility. At its new Mallow site, Dairygold has an environmental health and safety coordinator position available. Meanwhile, Dairygold is also looking for a vet, a site production planner and a QA systems and compliance manager in Mallow.

Amanda Peters, who is the group HR and development officer with Dairygold, says it can be difficult to find people with the right experience for some niche roles. She also says the cultural fit of the person with Dairygold is very important – even if they “have all the experience in the world”.

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Meanwhile, Dairygold’s Lombardstown site is looking for a maintenance fitter while the Mogeeley site is looking for a quality manager.

Dairygold is also taking on five retail sales assistants across various locations in Munster and is looking for three lab technicians for its Mitchelstown facility. These roles may require less experience.

Dairygold will also be recruiting for its graduate programme at the fair. Dairygold takes on approximately 10 to 20 graduates every year.

MEAT PROCESSORS

Liffey Meats

Liffey Meats is recruiting to fill several positions at the Agri Careers Fair. Liffey Meats is seeking to fill positions in production management, as well as other roles in sales, marketing, HR, engineering, health and safety, IT and food quality.

Liffey Meats is expanding across a number of markets and is looking for self-starters with a professional, ambitious, passionate approach and a strong work ethic. The company is interested in motivated candidates who want to grow their career in an exciting dynamic industry. Liffey Meats is interested in candidates who would be willing to travel overseas and learn different languages.

“There are more markets opening up and that’s where we need to develop our new customers and markets for our products,” says Anthony Lyons, HR manager with Liffey Meats.

He says that experience in the meat industry is a benefit – particularly in the areas of production and food safety. “It is also an advantage if people have experience in the food industry but with continuous on-the-job training, anyone who is ambitious can have an excellent career opportunity in Liffey Meats.”

Irish Country Meats

Irish Country Meats is recruiting for trainee production managers at the fair. Trainee production managers will work with and support the production team. This role is suitable for ambitious individuals with a positive attitude, strong business acumen and great people skills.

There are two trainee production manager roles available in the meat processor’s facility in Camolin, Co Wexford, and one position in Navan, Co Meath.

Irish Country Meats is looking for people in the area of sales and business development, who have languages. The company is looking for a driven and target-focused individual who is looking to develop their career in sales. A second language is essential and experience in the meat/food industry is desirable. CL

FRS Recruitment and FRS Farm Relief Services

FRS Recruitment will have a number of key positions to fill on behalf of their agribusiness clients in Ireland and overseas at the fair. FRS Recruitment specialises in the recruitment of staff at all levels for the agri-food sector, from support staff to senior management. Some of these positions include agricultural advisers and commercial sales advisers in tillage, ruminants and nutrition, while candidates will also be sought for roles in agronomy, agricultural engineering, food science, agri-environmental science, commercial sales, administration and finance and in agri retail sales and marketing.

FRS Recruitment will also be recruiting for agri-advisers and technical support staff. Furthermore, the recruiter will be looking to fill 25 to 30 dairy farm manager roles in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. These roles come with salaries of between €45,000 and €55,000 and are tax-free. The remuneration packages also include accommodation and flights home.

FRS Farm Relief Services will be recruiting to fill between 30 and 35 on-farm roles at the fair.