Proficiency test for merchants

A proficiency test for grain merchants and buyers has been launched to help companies trading in cereals and oilseeds demonstrate the knowledge and expertise of their staff and gain the confidence of their farmer customers.

The new online learning and assessment tool which was launched yesterday by the trade umbrella group, the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), will cover a range of topics relevant to grain trading including modules covering key areas such as contracts, crops, regional var- iations and exports. Successful completion of the modules in the Developing Standards in On-farm Grain Trading assessment will result in the award of a proficiency certificate which will be valid for three years.

The AIC’S cereal and oilseeds sector specialist, Catherine Barrett, said that while the measure was voluntary, passing the assessment would give merchants the means to prove to their customers that their staff were properly trained and up to speed in these areas.

She added that the collated results could also be used to highlight where more training might be required.

“The industry had been looking for a means of validating the expertise of their staff,” said Barratt, “and while the assessment is free and voluntary, it is available exclusively to AIC members who can use the certificates to help give farmers confidence in their operations.”

She said that the launch of the initiative was also designed to send out a positive message about standards within the trade- and with more than 50 candidates already signed up for the course, uptake was expected to run to several hundred.