As is now the norm, Enniskillen College of Agriculture's annual awards' day celebrated two sectors of academic/practical achievement, equine-related, and farming practices. Fermanagh and West Tyrone students swamped the honours' list for NVQ'as in subjects r elated to farming practices, but the rest of Northern and the South featured largely in the equine awards' list.
Indeed, such is the College's growing reputation as a Centre of Excellence in the delivery of equine studies that, this year again, the special guest speaker came from that background. He was Leo Powell, the Managing Editor of The Irish Field.
In the absence through illness of the Principal of the College, Seamus McAlinney, the job of reading the annual Report was entrusted to Ian Titterington, who is the deputy director of the North's three agricultural colleges,
After describing Enniskillen as, 'a Centre of Excellence for the delivery of equine, agriculture and rural enterprise education and training programmes', he told his audience that another important role was to encourage a wider public appreciation of the countryside.
"We work with the RSPB and local community interests to develop better access to the superb natural resources at Enniskillen Campus. Last year", he went on, " around 20,000 visitors, including people of all ages, came to Enniskillen Campus and Necarne estate and gained a better insight into nature and the countryside'.
He then addressed the strong links which the College had with those in the equine industry: "Last Winter, our Careers Day was extremely well supported by employers. The message from industry was very clear: the equine sector is developing fast, it is an exciting industry to work in and it offers many career opportunities for skilled young people with appropriate attitudes and qualifications".
Mr Titterington reported that, in recent years, approximately 95% of former students had secured employment in the equine industry, or progressed to higher-level education.
"Normally at Enniskillen", he added, "our students are securing good positions in competition yards, equine breeding and training, sales and marketing, administration and teaching. Employers comment favourably on the quality of students leaving this Campus, and regularly highlight the importance of the distinctive CAFRE (College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise) approach to education".
The audience heard that 253 students had participated in formal equine and agriculture courses at Enniskillen, and that the College had also delivered a wider range of nationally validated Lifelong Learning Programmes to people in the equine industry and agricultural community.
"Our aim is optimise the employability of our students within the context of a well-rounded educational experience. We are keen to play our part in the promotion of careers within the equine sector. Work Placement", he stated, " is a core component of our full time programmes".
He referred in turn to the various Diploma courses in the Equine Studies' sector, the horse breeding unit, the Racing Unit, and the equitation unit which is based at Necarne Castle.
There, Mr Titterington continued, Enniskillen Campus hosted top class equine events which brought welcome revenue to the rural tourism sector and gave students valuable experience in organising and running them.
Turning to farming practices, he said the College's agriculture programmes were focused on meeting the needs of the farming community in the West.
"As the farming industry continues to adapt to change, there has been a steady interest in our part-time courses with 39 students enrolled this year", he explained. " At Enniskillen, we also provide accessible lifelong learning programmes specially tailored to help the farming community seek out new opportunities and develop a more diverse rural economy".
For instance, since the initiative started in 2003, some 679 people had taken the first stage Business Planning programme.
He commented: "It is most encouraging that 277 of these participants have already established 255 businesses, providing full-time and part-time jobs for around 526 people, and there will be more to come. New rural enterprises on farms include tourism accommodation, leisure facilities, horse livery, creative arts and crafts, niche food production, light manufacturing and provision of services.
Concluding, he stated that, well-developed international exchange programmes had been supported by the Vaughan Trust. The considerable progress at Enniskillen during the year he credited to the hard work of the Head of Campus, Seamus McAlinney, and his dedicated team of managers and staff, supported by partnership organisations and friends.
He thanked all the teaching, administration, catering, domestic and industrial staff, along with Fermanagh College and supply teachers, who contributed so much to the smooth running of the Campus.. And, he acknowledged the excellent support provided by those who assisted with development and management of facilities at Enniskillen and Necarne.
