Opportunities for CAFRE’s Agriculture students

Date published: 13 February 2026

The Careers Event was designed to bring students together with employers from across the agriculture sector who were keen to meet potential placement students and future graduates. With more than 40 organisations in attendance, ranging from family enterprises to major agri-food businesses, students had the chance to explore a diverse variety of career pathways and placement roles on offer.

Opening the event, interim CAFRE Director Paul McHenry highlighted the importance of CAFRE’s industry connections. He said: “We greatly appreciate the commitment shown by all the businesses represented here today. Your presence reflects the strong partnerships we have developed across the sector and gives our students, at every stage of their studies, a valuable platform to begin shaping their careers. The breadth of opportunities available is remarkable, from hands on production roles to competitive graduate programmes within leading agricultural companies. The outlook for our CAFRE Agriculture and Land-based Engineering graduates is extremely positive.”

A broad mix of employers and organisations took part, including representatives from the livestock and land-based engineering sectors, alongside companies in processing, genetics, feed manufacture, business and retail.

Joe Mulholland, Senior Lecturer at CAFRE, commented: “Today we welcomed almost 400 students to our event, where over 100 vacancies were highlighted on a ‘Jobs Wall’. Our Opportunities in Agriculture Careers Event provides employers with the opportunity to meet potential placement students or future employees. It allows them to showcase their business, discuss career pathways, and highlight the development opportunities they can offer to CAFRE students and graduates.”

Attending the Careers Fair, Matthew Cowan remarked: “As a graduate of CAFRE, I was delighted to represent Countryside Services at the Careers Event. As a student I found the event of great value. It was super to be back at the college creating conversations with current students about their future work opportunities in the agriculture industry.”

CAFRE Level 3 Agriculture student Grace Mulholland found the event beneficial giving feedback: “The Opportunities in Agriculture careers event was great! Being involved in a beef and sheep farm at home I am interested in working within the breeding side of the industry. The event offered me the chance to research more about pathways into careers involving genetics. I had great chats with staff from Ai Services and Genus ABS to name a few. The agriculture sector offers lots of pathways. It was great to see so many businesses sharing opportunities with us.” 

“Agriculture is no longer just about farming the land; it’s about shaping the future,” commented Sharon McLaren, interim Head of Agriculture Education, CAFRE. “The agriculture sector is changing requiring farmers, producers, and agri-business leaders to adapt quickly as technology, sustainability, and consumer expectations reshape the landscape. CAFRE’s Agriculture courses equip learners with the skills and knowledge required to progress into an industry offering meaningful, forward-looking careers with real impact.”

Whether you want to work in the future locally or internationally, in hands-on or management roles, discover a course at CAFRE to match your range of skills, interests and ambitions. CAFRE offers courses from Level 2 through to Master’s Degree, following full-time and Apprenticeship pathways.

For more information about CAFRE’s Agriculture courses including details of our next Open Day on Friday 13 March 2026 at Greenmount Campus, visit the CAFRE website.