The Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster hosted the final session of their unique leadership programme ‘Cultivating Young Leaders’ which was developed following the success of the programme run by the Scottish Association of Young Farmers’ Clubs. The session was held on Friday 19th April 2024 at the Silverbirch Hotel in Omagh, County Tyrone.
Programme Facilitator Heather Wildman explained “this unique opportunity is aimed at helping young people with farm succession, career development and their daily lives. It marks a significant milestone in the YFCU’s commitment to the growth and development of their members”.
This leadership programme is proudly supported by The Thomas Henry Foundation and the Ulster Farmers’ Union, and was delivered over two weekends and a further final reflection session. Offering a dynamic and comprehensive curriculum, the programme is designed to cultivate leadership skills among the participants. It covers a diverse range of modules and includes a variety of practical activities which include developing business and leadership skills, vision and goal setting, cash flows, benchmarking and business plans. Young people should come away from the course feeling more confident in the need to excel in their careers, contribute to their communities and lead in the agricultural sector.
The final session was an opportunity for participants to reflect and share their learnings on completion of the course and discuss their future plans and aspirations. Programme Facilitator Heather Wildman, Tim Martin from The Thomas Henry Foundation, Lynsay Hawkes from the Ulster Farmers’ Union, Rodney Brown from Danske Bank and staff from the YFCU Headquarters attended the final session at the Silverbirch Hotel on Friday 19th April 2024.
“It was an inspiring morning for these young people and I trust that what they have covered in the programme will follow with them through their future careers” commented YFCU CEO Gillian McKeown. Addressing the audience, Tim Martin from The Thomas Henry Foundation said “Don’t wait until a door opens for you, go and open it yourself for that’s how you will succeed and if you’re prepared to learn, then you will go far”. He explained how the organisation was honoured to sponsor the programme and he wished the participants all the best in their futures.
Communications Officer for the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), Lynsay Hawkes, told the audience about what the UFU offers to people in agriculture, spoke about their membership opportunities and congratulated all the young people on their excellent presentations at the event.
Rodney Brown, Head of Agri-Business at Danske Bank and speaker for the Cultivating Young Leaders programme told participants that he looks at the partnership between the YFCU and Danske Bank as “an investment as opposed to a sponsorship, because of the opportunities involved for young people” and he applauded everyone for their excellent work in their communities.
YFCU President Richard Beattie thanked The Thomas Henry Foundation and the Ulster Farmers’ Union for their invaluable support to enable the YFCU to run the programme.
The YFCU look forward to the next intake of participants for their Cultivating Young Leaders programme. Applications will open in the coming months.
