The first two students to complete soft-fruit supplier BerryWorld’s two-year management training scheme have both earned management roles within the industry.
Tom Wood has been appointed assistant manager at Boyd Farming, Hants. He manages the firm’s strawberry fields and is learning every aspect of the business. Production this season is expected to reach 1,100 tonnes of strawberries and 100t of raspberries. Boyd Farming employs 300 staff.
And Daniel van der Veen is now managing one of the Hall Hunter Partnership’s satellite farms.
“It is vital for the industry that we have highly talented managers coming through to take positions of responsibility,” said BerryWorld’s Tim Newton. “We believe that we have set up the most comprehensive training programme within the business and are particularly pleased that our first two trainees have been offered management positions with very professional operations.”
BerryWorld’s scheme offers trainees a structured approach to learn four different jobs in two years: three with growers and one with the BerryWorld technical team. The trainees are also given a full grounding in customer awareness, people management, technical expertise, financial awareness and general business skills so that at the end of their two-year stint they are capable of taking responsibility for a large part of the soft-fruit growing business.
No comments yet