Fergus O’Mara is the international business development manager at Dairymaster. Speaking at the Agri Careers Fair in the RDS on 3 March, he said there were “many roles in dairy”, from engineering and IT to jobs in production, sales and business. Fergus said Dairymaster tends to look for people with an agri background. More importantly, however, they want someone who is “good at communication”.

International roles require a grasp of different languages, culture, and different terminology, Fergus said.

Philip McCabe is HR Business Partner at Glanbia, which takes 65 people a year “from all backgrounds” on its graduate programme. Agribusiness graduates stay in Ireland for two years, rotating around a number of different roles in agribusiness.

Philip says 99% of people on the graduate programme go into full-time roles, and that a lot of senior people in the company have come through the graduate programme themselves.

Philip said the common mistakes people make when going for an interview are lack of preparation, not selling themselves and not knowing enough about the company. “We look for innovative people who drive on for results. Someone who can value the role and put pressure on the person above them in the company,” he said.

Paul Cullinan, dairy adviser at Aurivo, says young graduates looking to get into the industry have to have an interest in agriculture and farming enterprises locally. “Our organisation is diverse and you don’t get pigeon-holed. You have to be willing to take on opportunities to shine. You have to be flexible and you have to be willing to move around.”

Noireann Lacey, AIB’s national agribusiness development manager, says the 16 people who are agri advisers at AIB all have agricultural science degrees. Ag science graduates are dotted throughout the bank, she says, and not just in advisory roles. Graduates with agri science degrees will “always find jobs within the banking sector”, she says.

Full coverage: Agri Careers Fair