Four agri-food professionals from Dairygold have graduated from the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) 2017/18 Production Supervisory Programme at a ceremony in University College Cork.
They include Seamus Enright (Production Shift Manager), Aoife Fox (Production Shift Manager), Roy Lewis (Production Shift Manager) and Michael Hassett (Maintenance Supervisor).
Designed exclusively for the Irish co-operative sector by ICOS Skillnet, the learning and development division of ICOS, the programme featured participants from Arrabawan, North Cork, Glanbia, Dairygold, Kerry, Carberry Group and Tipperary co-ops.
Participants studied several technical and management topics including, dairy technology, microbiology and environmental topics, future trends, effective communication, conflict management and performance management. The modules were taught through a mix of lectures, workshops and self-directed learning.
Designed to foster a multi-disciplinary approach to simulate real organisation and business conditions, course participants came from a variety of professional and technical backgrounds.
The ICOS Production Supervisory Programme was designed as part of ICOS Skillnet’s continuous improvement and development programme, to support the training for the co-operative sector in meeting the current and future needs of the agri-food industry.
The programme was developed following widespread consultation within the industry.
It stemmed from a working group established to identify training needs across the sector, which explored the development of industry-specific training interventions, developed by the industry for the industry, to enable substantive business growth.
The programme is recognised and accredited through the Food Industry Training Unit, University College Cork.
