Part Time Distance Green Cert

blacklilly

Hi All,

Just wondering if any of you have completed the part time distance learning green cert for non agriculture related graduates?

I'm currently working full time in a very demanding job which requires many out of office hours (Monday to Friday).

I note the part time green cert requires some class room hours, I believe during the week and I'd like to know how other full time workers managed with this. Did you find the course easy to manage or very demanding on time etc?

I note it also says that students should be spending a minimum of to days on their nominated farm, are they very strict about this?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

FarmerDougal

blacklilly wrote: »

Hi All,

Just wondering if any of you have completed the part time distance learning green cert for non agriculture related graduates?

I'm currently working full time in a very demanding job which requires many out of office hours (Monday to Friday).

I note the part time green cert requires some class room hours, I believe during the week and I'd like to know how other full time workers managed with this. Did you find the course easy to manage or very demanding on time etc?

I note it also says that students should be spending a minimum of to days on their nominated farm, are they very strict about this?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Approx 30 days 9-5pm over the year mostly weekdays. Plan ahead with employer use holidays etc.

Coursework not very demanding, 3hrs/ week would cover study farm diary etc.

They do not check up on how many actual days worked on farm placement once diary is filled.

Tvis

I'm in a similar situation to you blacklilly. Although it is called a part time distance course it does still involve one full days attendance at a designated teagasc centre every week for a 30 week period, sometime between September and May.
It is not possible for me to get a day off work for 30 weeks and for this reason only i cannot do the course. Its an awful shame that the old online course has been scrapped.
One other option that i have found out about lately is a part time version of the course offered at Ballyhaise College.There's not a lot of information about this course out there but what i have gathered from the teagasc website is that it operates in the college two evenings a week from September to May. The nasty bit is that it has a two year duration.
As i said, there doesn't seem to be much info out there about this course but i intend to make a few more inquiries and try to get myself signed up for this September.

Farrell

Do you have a degree or a level 7 qualification?
Can you keep us posted if there is any developments

blacklilly

Thanks Tvis. Yea it's just not practicle for me at all. It would effectively mean using all my annual leave and trying to negoiate days off unpaid to do the course.
I do not know why these part time courses which are primarily aimed at people who are in employment are not ran more frequently at weekends.

Ballyhaise may not be suitable for me, depending on the hours involved as I work in Dublin.

Farrell, I've a level 8 Hons degree. Beginning to wish I did the green cert years ago!!

Tcom

Blacklilly - I am in the same boat. Are the main benefits of the cert that you get the top up on the young farmer until 2019 at E60 per acre and a 60% tax cut on any new farm buildings. I know the stamp duty is eliminated on inheriting a farm. (Our farm is small so stamp duty will be very little and It might be easier to take the hit)

Is there any other benefit?

blacklilly

Tcom wrote: »

Blacklilly - I am in the same boat. Are the main benefits of the cert that you get the top up on the young farmer until 2019 at E60 per acre and a 60% tax cut on any new farm buildings. I know the stamp duty is eliminated on inheriting a farm. (Our farm is small so stamp duty will be very little and It might be easier to take the hit)

Is there any other benefit?

Hi Tcom,

I'm not currently farming and may never actively farm but may inherit land/farm in the future, therefore my main reason for wanting to do the green cert to is avail of CAT relief which is available under certain conditions.

Bellview

Pity teagasc never moved into the real world and offer courses at weekends to allow part time folks a chance to complete the green cert especially those with smaller holdings who need to work to keep the show on the road. Saying that I'm not surprised either as any research that is carried out by Teagasc always appears to be be paid for by commercial bodies who may have an agenda instead of true independent research which is what should be their focus.

I did the online course and the few days in college and honestly it was a joke as most lads attending were builders etc on a tax scam and the quality of course was the worst I have ever taken and given the price charged a robbery

rant over

WestportCFE

Bellview wrote: »

Pity teagasc never moved into the real world and offer courses at weekends to allow part time folks a chance to complete the green cert especially those with smaller holdings who need to work to keep the show on the road. Saying that I'm not surprised either as any research that is carried out by Teagasc always appears to be be paid for by commercial bodies who may have an agenda instead of true independent research which is what should be their focus.

I did the online course and the few days in college and honestly it was a joke as most lads attending were builders etc on a tax scam and the quality of course was the worst I have ever taken and given the price charged a robbery

rant over

We are offering the Green Cert 2 evenings a week in Westport 6.30-9.30 Monday and Tuesday. The next course starts in September. We have 3 classes of 30 in each. 2 are already full. There are 28 places left on the 3rd course. We are Department of Agri and Revenue approved.

Farrell

WestportCFE wrote: »

We are offering the Green Cert 2 evenings a week in Westport 6.30-9.30 Monday and Tuesday. The next course starts in September. We have 3 classes of 30 in each. 2 are already full. There are 28 places left on the 3rd course. We are Department of Agri and Revenue approved.

Is there a minimum qualification to enter?

WestportCFE

Farrell wrote: »

Is there a minimum qualification to enter?

No we do not have any for night courses

Farrell

WestportCFE wrote: »

No we do not have any for night courses

That's good, know a person who has a level 6 but can't get on a green cert course as qualification not good enough & must do the full year.
Only thing is they've a full time job

WestportCFE

Farrell wrote: »

That's good, know a person who has a level 6 but can't get on a green cert course as qualification not good enough & must do the full year.
Only thing is they've a full time job

I think the last places will be gone by Friday.

Farrell

WestportCFE wrote: »

I think the last places will be gone by Friday.

Thanks, bit too far away but great to see things improving

4odh4n

Tvis wrote: »

I'm in a similar situation to you blacklilly. Although it is called a part time distance course it does still involve one full days attendance at a designated teagasc centre every week for a 30 week period, sometime between September and May.
It is not possible for me to get a day off work for 30 weeks and for this reason only i cannot do the course. Its an awful shame that the old online course has been scrapped.
One other option that i have found out about lately is a part time version of the course offered at Ballyhaise College.There's not a lot of information about this course out there but what i have gathered from the teagasc website is that it operates in the college two evenings a week from September to May. The nasty bit is that it has a two year duration.
As i said, there doesn't seem to be much info out there about this course but i intend to make a few more inquiries and try to get myself signed up for this September.

I have just started on the distance greeen cert course in the last few weeks and classes are only one friday every 3-4 weeks, 15days in total for 2015, and another 7 in 2016. I am mostly using annual leave, but have agreed with employer to work up hours in busy times, and use this to cover some of the days and save on leave.

leoch

know a lad that done it a few years back and he says it was the biggest load of sh1t ever he says most of it was common sence and he says he cant remember one thing he didnt already know that was usful to him it is just something to keep the boys in jobs

blacklilly

leoch wrote: »

know a lad that done it a few years back and he says it was the biggest load of sh1t ever he says most of it was common sence and he says he cant remember one thing he didnt already know that was usful to him it is just something to keep the boys in jobs

It being the "biggest load of sh*t" is beyond the point, I'm sure I'll learn very little from it but the vast majority of people do the green cert for tax reasons

leoch

yea tax reasons jobs for the boys etc thats wat i ment its a joke

Tvis

WestportCFE wrote: »

We are offering the Green Cert 2 evenings a week in Westport 6.30-9.30 Monday and Tuesday. The next course starts in September. We have 3 classes of 30 in each. 2 are already full. There are 28 places left on the 3rd course. We are Department of Agri and Revenue approved.

Hi WestportCFE, thanks for that reply. Is this a two year course? Bit cheeky of me to ask but where can I find out about what other locations are offering this course, just that Westport is quite a distance from me?

blacklilly wrote: »

It being the "biggest load of sh*t" is beyond the point, I'm sure I'll learn very little from it but the vast majority of people do the green cert for tax reasons

Very true, regardless of content, I need to do this course in order to start farming on my own and avail of whatever financial assistance is on offer. My issue is in finding a suitable course that fully caters for those in full time employment who simply cannot get days off!

blacklilly

Tvis wrote: »

Very true, regardless of content, I need to do this course in order to start farming on my own and avail of whatever financial assistance is on offer. My issue is in finding a suitable course that fully caters for those in full time employment who simply cannot get days off!

It seems very difficult to find a course suitable to those in full time employment. For me personally, anything other than a weekend facilated course is not really suitable and would result in me having efficitevely very little annual leave for the duration of the course. My job is high pressured enough without giving up nearly all my leave for a course

JOAT

Anyone on here after doing a few of the exams? I have my first exam in about ten days on the beef production section. What kind of stuff do they ask in the exams? Detailed stuff or is it just more general questions?

Muckit

Does anyone know why the distance learning option is twice the price of the fulltime option?

Farrell

Muckit wrote: »

Does anyone know why the distance learning option is twice the price of the fulltime option?

Probably to encourage the full time option.
If they're getting lots of numbers they increase the learning to min level 7

893bet

Muckit wrote: »

Does anyone know why the distance learning option is twice the price of the fulltime option?

How much are each?

893bet

leoch wrote: »

yea tax reasons jobs for the boys etc thats wat i ment its a joke

What are the tax advantages?

atlantic mist

the questions are pretty general ud want to read the book thou, common sense ans most of questions

dont think they run it at weekends as staff wouldnt b there dont need them on overtime to run course wit cutbacks unless people were willing to pay, its pricey enough as is for the level of qualification

if ur goin farmin fultime its not great in my opinion more suited if ur goin to work away from farm and never walked inside the gate before, i wanted to do the green cert but dnt want to spend the year doin it so that y i went that route, people mostly on course wit me were doing it for tax reasons, not all, and no intention of every farming so twas nice to see them getting stuck in everyone must dehorn a calf and inject a cow with water

tax relief: qualify as young trained farmer no stamp duty if transferred land before 35 birthday

Buford T. Justice XIX

Bellview wrote: »

Pity teagasc never moved into the real world and offer courses at weekends to allow part time folks a chance to complete the green cert especially those with smaller holdings who need to work to keep the show on the road. Saying that I'm not surprised either as any research that is carried out by Teagasc always appears to be be paid for by commercial bodies who may have an agenda instead of true independent research which is what should be their focus.

I did the online course and the few days in college and honestly it was a joke as most lads attending were builders etc on a tax scam and the quality of course was the worst I have ever taken and given the price charged a robbery

rant over

It may be easy to rant about Teagasc but it may not be the reason there is no weekend courses.

I was at a meeting with John Donworth speaking earlier this week about the future of his section of Teagasc. The advisors are averaging 150 clients/head and, with a number of advisors leaving and the moratorium on public sector recruitment, that figure is due to reach 250/ advisor in the near future. The entire staff in Kerry are going to be doing discussion groups so there will be very little manpower available to do much else and that's before any extra weekend courses are setup.

Also, on the Green Cert, there are enrolements taking place in Kerry for this course despite the fact that there will be no education officers available to complete the course atm.

It would be no harm to enquire if there will be anyone there to teach the complete course wherever you are doing it.

L1985

Hey I'm doing it at the moment mine is 13 Fridays in the year but the class after mine went up to 21 or something. They seem to be making it longer and more difficult as they go along and I'd be looking at doing it sooner rather then later if I were u ( even thou im the same as you with the A\L)There is a decent bit of work involved and unless ur someone who can list off the anatomy of a cow vs a bullock or be able to detail soil components etc you'll have to do a bit of study! The practicals are grand thou if uv done any farming. But it takes a good few hours before hand to do all the assignments etc which none of my group was prepared for!! Some of it's useful enough thou and some of it (like learning how to fence a field) is pure crap!!

drdidlittle

Are the classes for the distance lerning on during the week too? No way I could get the time off from work for 15 or so days. I'd be left with no hoildays

L1985

Yeah seems to be either Fridays or Mondays for our course which runs in kildalton. I know I was in the same boat in my case just felt sucking it up for the year was worth it and if I didn't do it now I'd keep putting it off!

thegreatgonzo

leoch wrote: »

know a lad that done it a few years back and he says it was the biggest load of sh1t ever he says most of it was common sence and he says he cant remember one thing he didnt already know that was usful to him it is just something to keep the boys in jobs

I'm always wary of people who think they have nothing left to learn. I've seen some real know it all farmers who can talk a good talk but their animals are falling down with malnutrition

Muckit

893bet wrote: »

How much are each?

The part time is 2100 spondulics. The full time is just over a grand

drdidlittle

L1985 wrote: »

Yeah seems to be either Fridays or Mondays for our course which runs in kildalton. I know I was in the same boat in my case just felt sucking it up for the year was worth it and if I didn't do it now I'd keep putting it off!

Cant get over that the collages dont carry out the courses at the weekends.

Mourinho

So lads I'm just trying to get my head around this. Only have a level 5 in a non agricultural area. So can I apply at all?

So full time is what Monday to Friday and it costs €1000?

If I do part time distance it costs €2100 and I'd still need to take 30 days off work in the year?

The old fella was trying to get me to finish it by September 2016 for the young farmers scheme, which can't be done as applications are closed now anyway. Or is it I can have my interest in foing one rrgistered by then?

WestportCFE

Mourinho wrote: »

So lads I'm just trying to get my head around this. Only have a level 5 in a non agricultural area. So can I apply at all?

So full time is what Monday to Friday and it costs €1000?

If I do part time distance it costs €2100 and I'd still need to take 30 days off work in the year?

The old fella was trying to get me to finish it by September 2016 for the young farmers scheme, which can't be done as applications are closed now anyway. Or is it I can have my interest in foing one rrgistered by then?

You need to commit to starting the course by 30 September 2016. We offer the course full time over 2 years in our college. There are places available in Level 5 starting in September. If you have a level 5 and experience you can Go into level 6. The cost is 100 if you have a medical card and 350 of you don't. You can also get the student grant. 1600-3200 per year. Both are 4 days a week.

We have a part time course staring in September 2015 this is full. We are taking applications for September 2016 and this course costs 1990.

Call 09825241 for more information.

Mourinho

Thanks Westport but I'm in West Clare and will be working full time so I'm afraid it's out

Corkfarmer

I thought Teagasc was the only body running green cert courses but obviously not from reading the above posts. It would be fierce handy if another body set up a course part time on the weekend around the country it would get great uptake. Anyone know any alternatives to Teagasc like above in Cork?