WMN2 Empowering young farmers to speak up
A series of public speaking events have been hailed as a great success when it comes to equipping Devon’s young farmers with valuable life and career skills for the future. Athwenna Irons reports on the ever-popular initiative
FROM mock job interviews to group debates, Devon’s young farmers have been testing their public speaking talents as part of a series of competitions.
The Devon Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (YFC) competitions, which are sponsored by leading rural insurer NFU Mutual, aim to give young people the opportunity to improve their confidence and communication skills, while helping them to maximise their professional and personal potential.
Members of the federation aged 10 to 28 have been taking part in the programme of junior, intermediate and senior speaking competitions, with the best performers getting the chance to compete in national finals.
The events take on a range of different themes and include ‘Situations Vacant’, which involves competitors taking part in a mock job interview. Some of those who’ve taken part in the past have even gone on to be offered a real life job role from the business people who’ve played the role of interviewer.
Another competition, Call My Bluff, is based on the classic TV show of the same name and is a fun, laid back speaking contest. The final one is called Brainstrust, a debating forum on random questions, of which competitors have no prior knowledge.
One of this year’s key competitions was the senior Brainstrust event, which was held at the YFC centre in Cheriton Bishop. It was a national qualifier and the winning team will go on to represent Devon next year, firstly in the South West area finals in March and possibly the national finals in July.
Among the winners was Shelley Ford, a member of Buckland Brewer YFC, who won best female speaker on the night. It’s the second year running she has won the prize and she is the first to admit public speaking has helped her to achieve a lot, particularly career wise. As an account manager with Perrigo Pharmaceutical Suppliers in Braunton, the 28-year-old regularly has to negotiate with big pharmaceutical brands.
“I have definitely used the skills I have learned in public speaking, professionally on a day to day-to-day basis, trying to talk senior managers round to my way of thinking or getting a customer to agree to pay a higher price,” said Shelley, who first started taking part in YFC speaking events when she was 16.
“It’s also given me the confidence to stand up and do presentations to senior management, as well as within young farmers, getting up in front of an audience or chairing a meeting.”
Shelley is also putting her skills and experience to good use too, training other competitors - and she is particularly impressed with the quality of those taking part in the junior events.
She added: “I watched some of the junior competitions and got a chance to judge some last year too. Some of the kids are only 14 and I just thought wow, I was nowhere near as good as them at that age. Some are just mind blowing.”
Rosie Bennett, outgoing county chairman of the Devon Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, is impressed with the standard of current competitors from the county’s clubs. She said that Devon has a rich history in public speaking, with many teams going on to win the national finals.
“Public speaking is one of the things that we do best. It’s all about growing our members’ confidence and developing a life skill that you will forever be grateful for,” said Rosie.
“The skills that I have gained through public speaking competitions have been crucial throughout my year as county chairman. From compering our events to representing Devon YFC on local radio, I will forever be grateful for the skills it has given me.”
Upcoming public speaking competitions being organised by Devon YFC include junior members being in the spotlight on Thursday, December 1 at the junior reading finals, followed by the junior public speaking finals on Thursday, January 19, 2023.
Alongside public speaking events, Devon YFC also supports it members with skills training in a range of professional areas, such as leadership and events management. There is also a packed programme of social events on offer, as well as opportunities for foreign travel.
As well as supporting young farmers’ federations, NFU Mutual is also dedicated to helping the next generation of young farming talent through graduate training schemes, post-graduate training bursaries and travel scholarships.
Phoebe Ridley, from NFU Mutual’s South West team and based in Devon, said: “I always find it heart-warming to hear how some of these wonderfully talented young public speakers may have had to overcome shyness and a lack of confidence, yet are now chairing debates and meetings with authority and professionalism.”