New Beekeeping Qualification Up and Flying Soon
8/12/2011 5:18 AM EST
For immediate release
Honey bees impact the life of everyone in the UK and make an important contribution to agriculture, biosecurity and the environment. Whether as a hobby or a career, those interested in working with honey bees can soon benefit from taking the Level 1 Award in Introduction to Beekeeping, the UK’s very first regulated beekeeping qualification.*
Created by Lantra Awards in partnership with the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA), the Level 1 Award in Introduction to Beekeeping Qualification will provide a sound industry foundation to learners who are entering the industry or seeking to formalise existing experience. This Qualification will give learners the skills and knowledge they need to make the craft of beekeeping a sustainable activity and improve the quality of beekeeping.
Chris Deaves, Chair of Education & Husbandry for the BBKA, said: “One in three mouthfuls of the food we eat is dependent on pollination at a time when a crisis is threatening the world's honey bees. This new qualification is a huge step forward in the vocational training of beekeepers and will support the UK’s food production in the future.”
Lesley Barr, Head of Product Development with Lantra Awards, said: “This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in working with honey bees. Finally there will be a way into the industry that provides real skills with a recognised qualification at the end. The BBKA has been instrumental in the development of this qualification and we are pleased to be working with them.
“It is important that the future of beekeeping is safe-guarded by individuals with the skills to care of the UK’s honey bees. This qualification is designed to cultivate the next generation of beekeepers so now is the time to take your beekeeping career or hobby to the next level.”
For more information or to register your interest in the Level 1 Award in Beekeeping, visit
http://www.lantra-awards.co.uk/training/beekeeping.aspx, call 08457 078007 or email
. For more information on honey bees and beekeeping, visit
www.bbka.org.uk/.
* Regulated through Ofqual
ENDS
ISSUED BY
Lantra Awards Press Office
Samuel Zelmer-Jackson, PR Co-ordinator
Tel: 02476 858 418 or email
Follow Lantra Awards on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/LantraAwards NOTES TO EDITOR
About the Beekeeping Qualification
The qualification offers:
• An outline of the biology, lifecycle and behaviour of the honey bee, including interaction with plants and crops
• An introduction to the appearance of a healthy hive, the basic indications of serious pests and diseases, and how to manage infestations
• An introduction to the hygiene of a honey bee colony, techniques to prevent the transmission of disease and the management of equipment
• Practical beekeeping skills, including the set-up and use of equipment and the interpretation of the colony, and seasonal skills such as winter preparation, spring growth, swarm management and honey production
• Skills for dealing with the removal of honey from beehives and the extraction and preparation of honey for sale
• General health and safety advice for the hive, equipment use, how to deal with beestings and skills for record keeping and customer service
About Lantra Awards
• Lantra Awards, one of the UK’s leading awarding and accrediting organisations, offers and develops national qualifications in a range of subject areas related to the land-based and environmental industries. It also offers provision for the voluntary and construction sectors.
• Its delivers courses through a network of more than 500 training providers, and more than 50,000 learners attend its technical awards courses each year.
• Lantra Awards is a registered charity and wholly owned subsidiary of Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for the land-based and environmental sectors.
• For more information see
www.lantra-awards.co.uk.