Students in the final year of their agricultural science degree at Munster Technological University (MTU) Kerry were recently given a chance to display their knowledge to potential employers.

As part of the Agricultural Science Careers Day, the 21 students were put through their paces in mock interviews by over 15 industry representatives at the MTU north campus in Tralee.

The event provided an important networking opportunity for the students who began their journey at MTU four years ago during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eoin McCarthy, lecturer in agricultural science and chair of the agricultural science board at MTU, told Agriland that the event is "very beneficial for preparing students for working with industry".

"Students get feedback on their interview skills, how to improve their CVs and see what job prospects are out there in the agricultural industry at the moment," he said.

"They are working with Kerry Dairy Ireland and ACRES Ireland (the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme).

"The employers found it extremely beneficial that they got to see these students and see the best of them on the day before they finish with their final exams," McCarthy added.

Bridget Breen, a lecturer in MTU Tralee south campus, said that the mock interviews play a key role for students going out into the jobs market.

"They are well prepared, some of them will know some of the companies, they will have worked in those companies already.

"It's nice to do it in a mock setting but some of these turn into real actual interviews or they've the hard work done today and they turn into real jobs," she said.

Many of the industry representatives who conducted the mock interviews were graduates from the college.

"They are very supportive, it wasn't difficult to convince them to come back in," Breen said.

The industry partners who supported the careers day included:

Kerry Dairy Ireland;
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM);
Teagasc;
ACRES Ireland;
Barrons Agri Trading;
Lee Strand;
Howard Farms;
Southern Milling;
Agriland;
Grassland Agro;
Munster Bovine;
Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF);
ABP;
FCD Group;
Radio Kerry.

Breen said there is a "two-way relationship" between MTU and industry partners, which helps inform the agricultural science course which attracts students from across the country.

"You're constantly getting feedback from those placements and feedback on what students are doing on those placements from Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture.

"They go out in third year, so they bring all of those skills back into fourth year. They are well-rounded by the time they get into fourth year," she said.

Five students were presented with awards, sponsored by Kerry Dairy Ireland, based on their performance during the mock interviews.

The winners were Dean Rusk; Austin O'Brien; Sean O'Connor; Orla Mai Duggan; and Eimear O'Malley.

A booklet containing background information and contact details for all of the students was also provided to the industry representatives on the day.

The annual first year intake for agricultural science at MTU Tralee is 32 students, with demand for the course being stable over the past five years.

Eoin McCarthy said that the course is going "very well" because "a lot of the students are getting very good jobs in industry and that feeds back to the schools".

"They see that there's good career prospects because it is a broad degree, you are not specialised in any one topic.

"You can go into ag advisory, or you could work in genetics with the ICBF, you've the opportunity to travel or teach in secondary schools," he said.

The MTU lecturer noted that the agriculture sector is currently undergoing huge challenges.

"Succession is probably the biggest challenge I see facing agriculture, but then you've climate change, water quality issues and biodiversity decline.

"If you're dealing with biodiversity, you've to work with farmers and that's what we teach the students here.

"They go out to a lot of farms, they go to a lot of research centres, like Teagasc Oakpark, Moorepark and Johnstown Castle.

"We don't have a research farm, but we're linked with [Teagasc] Clonakilty in second year and they go out to a lot of the best farms here. We have a very close working relationship with Kerry Dairy Ireland," McCarthy said.

Work is currently underway to complete the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) building at the MTU Kerry north campus which is expected to be operational from September.

The 9,042m, three-storey building will increase the capacity of MTU Kerry by 440 students, and will include laboratories, agri-machinery workshops, and classrooms.