First ever stockperson apprentice completes in the South West

The South West boasts the first person ever to complete the Stockperson New Standard apprenticeship and they did it in style.

Duchy College apprentice Sonny Luxton from Beegbeer Farm, proved his mettle and earned the admiration of his trainers, according to Roger Clarke, Rural Apprenticeship Manager at Duchy College and Bicton College.

“Sonny achieved a distinction for his practical and professional discussion in his end point assessment (EPA),” he explained.
“This is a real credit to him, his employer and the dedicated team here at The Cornwall College Group (TCCG), in particular assessor and work coach Peer Reed.
“We are very proud to be the first college in the country that has put apprentices through the new apprenticeship stockperson standard.

Sonny said it was a great feeling to be the first in the country to complete the EPA for Stockperson.
“The apprenticeship went well and being able to complete the EPA at my place of work was good as it made me at ease,” he explained.
“It was a straight forward process allowing me show what I’ve learnt during my apprenticeship programme at college and with my employer, a real showcase of my abilities.”

Chris Jordan, Begbeer Farm, Spreyton, said it was “a great honour to host the first stockperson apprenticeship EPA on our farm.”
“We have had numerous apprentices over the years and I feel the EPA is a good way for the learner to show their ability and explain their knowledge to the assessor,” he explained.
Apprenticeship standards are employer designed and are occupation-focused on the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to achieve the apprenticeship.

The stockperson apprenticeship develops core requirements for looking after animals competently and depending on the type of farm you have, the apprentice will develop specialist skills in either pigs, sheep, dairy or beef production.
“The apprenticeship will cover a range of topics including: health, biosecurity and welfare, vehicle operation, nutrition, handling and moving, breeding and replacement,” explained Peter Reed, Programme Manager at Duchy College and Bicton College.
“As well as developing the apprentices’ core skills and knowledge additional qualifications are included in the price.”
These include emergency first aid at work and safe use of pesticides as well as one of the following; boom sprayer, mounted, trailed or self-propelled equipment, granular applicator equipment or handheld applicator equipment.
Other short legislative courses are heavily subsidised, such as Tele Handler, ATV and Mule.
For a small business with fewer than 50 employees apprenticeships are fully-funded for apprentices aged 16-18 or 95% funded for an apprentice aged 19 and over.
To find out more about stockperson and other rural apprenticeships at Bicton College and Duchy College, contact their Apprenticeship Recruitment Team on 0330 123 4785, apprenticeships@duchy.ac.uk or to view current apprenticeship vacancies visit www.duchy.ac.uk/apprenticeship-hub.