Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB) is beginning information technology (IT) classes for farmers this Thursday, February 6, at the Midlands Skills Centre in Tullamore, Co. Offaly.
The free six week programme offers farmers the opportunity to learn IT skills that are essential to navigating the agricultural sector.
The regional literacy coordinator at the LOETB, Tamara Latham said: “There’s a huge challenge in trying to keep up with the IT of the farming community, and we are hoping to meet farmers needs.
“There’s something in it for everybody, at every level. If someone needs a bit of support with something else, they are welcome to come along and attend. We have some wriggle room after (the class) if someone needs a little bit of a one to one support, there is some time available that our tutor can facilitate that.”
The class will cover a range of different technological skills that farmers need on a day to day basis.
Students will learn how to use smartphones and tablets to access farming resources, and how to navigate farm specific apps for weather, crops, and livestock.
The class can also help farmers navigate online auctions, herd registrations, and quality assurance (QA) schemes.
IT classes
Last year, 2024, LOETB set up digital support hubs in local marts. The hubs were designed to provide supports to farmers in any way they could.
“Quite often we find reaching out into the community is where you’re going to meet people to have those important conversations, particularly in the farming community where people are so busy,” Latham said.
“We just respond to the query in the first instance and let people know there are further supports available. If it is a digital query, brilliant, but if someone needs more of a sensitive approach, the tutor can have that conversation and let them know services are available,” she added.
According to the Programme for International Assessment for Adult Competencies (PIAAC), over one in five adults in Ireland have unmet literacy needs, and one in four adults have unmet numeracy needs.
The free farmers IT classes begin this Thursday, February 6 at 10:00am in Tullamore. For more information, Tamara Latham is available at 0858560160.