Agriculture
When we think of Agriculture we automatically think of farming. But Agriculture is not just confined to farming. This sector of our economy is linked to everything from the clothes we wear (cotton jeans and t-shirts, woollen jumpers and coats, leather shoes and jackets) to the food we eat and drink. When we go on holiday or even pursue our hobbies we often engage the services of people working in the Agriculture Sector.
Government Labour Reports forecast a continued decline in the number of people employed in traditional agriculture careers such as farming, but the wider sector offers many new opportunities in the areas such as Food Scientist, Horse Breeder, Environmental Officer/Management, Jockey and Agricultural Research.
Although the nature of the work can be very physical, it offers a healthy and rewarding lifestyle. As a starting point, you should consider whether you would enjoy the outdoor life and working with nature.
Agri-Tourism
There is a growth in outdoor recreation and it is creating career opportunities for people supplying professional tourist services in rural settings in activities such as horse-riding, fishing, golfing, sailing and hill-walking. Many farmers are now opening their farms up to tourists. This form of expanded Agri-tourism has potential to offer full and part-time careers.
Horticulture
Horticulture is the art and science of the cultivation of plants. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the fields of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic engineering, plant biochemistry, and plant physiology. The work particularly involves fruits, berries, nuts, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs, and turf. Horticulturalists work to improve crop yield, quality, nutritional value, and resistance to insects, diseases, and environmental stresses.
Amenity Horticulture includes gardening, designing and a whole lot more.It starts with the design and construction of recreational areas. These can be parks, nature reserves, wildlife gardens, and roadside plantings, amongst other designed landscapes.
These areas can be public, as with local authority parks, and roadside plantings, so important to wildlife. They can also be private, as in stately homes, apartment complexes and so on.
If you enjoy sport, remember an amenity horticulturist is likely to have designed, constructed and maintained the playing field, tennis court, running track, bowling green or golf course.
Commercial horticulture involves the growing and selling of food crops and ornamental plants. In the area of food production it is the horticulturist who faces the challenge of growing the fruit and the vegetables that we eat. It is also the horticulturist who grows the flowers and pot plants to decorate our homes and public spaces.
Gardening is now the number one active leisure pursuit, and gardeners are demanding new plant types and increased quality. Producing these crops is a very technical business, involving automated systems, controlled using state of the art computer technology, alongside traditional skills.
Commercial horticulture also includes retail horticulture, and working in retail horticulture outlets is challenging - building effective eyecatching displays, marketing plants, as well as dealing with people’s enquiries. Work in retail horticulture is probably more interesting and demanding than any other type of retail work.
Horticulture includes all this and much more. Job prospects are very good in this area as Irish people have become more environmentally conscious. People are showing greater interest in their gardens and the outdoor world in general.
Forestry
This is the art, science, and practice of managing forests and plantations. Ireland is fortunate in that it has one of the most suitable climates in the world for growing trees. There are over 10, 000 people directly employed in activities such as planting, harvesting, transport and processing timber in Ireland. The Government has a forestry trajectory which aims to double this figure over the next 10 years. (See 'Experts' profile for Coillte for more details)
Food Science
Food science is concerned with all technical aspects of food, beginning with harvesting or slaughtering, and ending with its cooking and consumption. It is considered one of the agricultural sciences, and is usually considered distinct from the field of nutrition.
Examples of the activities of food scientists include the development of new food products, design of processes to produce these foods, choice of packaging materials, shelf-life studies, sensory evaluation of the product with trained expert panels or potential consumers, as well as microbiological and chemical testing.
Food scientists at universities may study more fundamental phenomena that are directly linked to the production of particular food product and its properties.
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Useful Career Sheets from STEPS to Engineering [pdf files]
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Biosystems
Engineering
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