The Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society has announced it will launch a new business and leadership course to provide vital training to sustain the future of the UK beef industry.

The four-day ‘Future Leaders’ course is 70% funded by the society and boasts a wide range of speakers covering topics such as Leadership and Management, Innovation and Supply Chain and Business Strategy.

The courses are taking place in Lancashire on October 9-10 and November 13-14, and are set to be great events with lots of opportunities for learning, engaging and increasing future opportunity.

Chief executive Barrie Turner said: “We have always been passionate about investing in the future of the beef industry and we believe that harnessing the passion and experience of the young people in agriculture is key to this.

“We have been running our Youth Development Programme since the early 2000s and have seen more than 5,000 young people benefit from the hands-on handling experience, and this is the natural progression for us.

“The Future Leaders course is the next step in our commitment to help support and create our future industry leaders through developing their people’s skills.”

Trainers and coaches on the courses include:

  • Leadership and Management – Andy Johnson (From the Front Consultancy);
  • Human Resource Management – Heather Wildman (Saviour Associates);
  • Business Strategy – Matthew Duckworth (NATWEST);
  • Innovation & Supply Chain – Sandra Callwood (Promar Consultancy);
  • Marketing & Social Media – Catherine Broomfield (Broomfield Solutions) and Peter Greig (Pipers Farm, BBC Food producer of the year 2011);
  • After Dinner Speaker – Alisdair Houston (Gretna Green Ltd);
  • After Dinner Speaker – Farmer Tom (Thomas Martin).

Participants on the courses are aged 20-30 and currently work in the beef industry with a desire to develop their professional skills and unlock their potential as they prepare to meet the industry changes, challenges and opportunities in the future.

Matthew Rollason is among those looking forward to taking part.

He said: “The opportunity to connect with other young people and future leaders across the industry will prove invaluable in the future, in addition to equipping me with new skills to further my future career.”