A new training opportunity for YFC members has created ambassadors for the land-based industry.
The bespoke New Voices training was an NFYFC project in collaboration with Lantra and Landex, and was supported by Defra. The project offers free training to YFC members and finalists of the Land Based & Environment Learners (LBEL) awards.
The training intends to support further career development and equip participants with essential skills to inspire other young people who are starting their career journey in the land-based industries.
During the inaugural event in November, emphasis was on fostering optimism, building resilience, and empowering participants with practical goal-setting strategies.
Inspired by the career journeys of Lantra Board members and industry leaders, Professor John Moverley OBE and Dr David Llewellyn CBE, the group gained valuable insights from real-life examples of overcoming adversity and seizing every opportunity.
Jess Radnor, 24, from Woolhope YFC in Herefordshire is a Farm Catchment Advisor and wanted to take part in the training to network, learn new skills, and to become an ambassador.
“One of the big conversations we had there was about creating our vision for the future, so it was interesting to plan that out properly. I also learnt how to take that onto farm and how to understand a farm’s vision and how to do it holistically,” said Jess.
“It’s not only the communication skills and the networks that you build there, but also knowing about the career pathways. One of the key messages was to never turn down an opportunity – even if it’s different to where you thought you were going. It was a really good event. I will definitely use what I learnt in my career and personal development.”
Participants also took part in a session with experienced succession coach Amy Fry. Working with NFYFC and Lantra, Amy devised a session to help everyone create a ‘vision house’ to determine purpose, values and priorities for a future career.
Amy demonstrated how purpose is rooted in values and explained how creating a personal vision house can serve as a checklist for aligning actions with goals.
Jess found the advice useful, especially the emphasis on breaking down goals into smaller, manageable steps when planning what you want to achieve.
“I was inspired by Amy’s session, it really got your mind working,” said Jess. “My work vision is to create something more bespoke for the upcoming generation. There’s a lot of transition going on and a lot of farms I am visiting now are where the next generation is starting to take it on. There’s lots of new ideas coming back from universities so it’s putting those into practice.”
The training event will also be turned into a podcast so more people can benefit from the sessions and will feature reactions and thoughts from the next generation.
If you are interested in being part of the New Voices network and receiving further training, please contact sarah.palmer@nfyfc.org.uk for further information.
