Farm worker
Career outlook for farm worker
UK Salary Ranges
Entry-level
£18,000
£18,000
Experienced
£25,000
£25,000
Currently employed in Scotland
7,500
Salary information is provided by the "National Careers Service". "Oxford Economics" supplies job forecasts and employment figures. Due to COVID-19 the jobs market is constantly changing. Some of the information may not reflect the current situation.
What's it like?
You would do practical and manual work on a farm. You could look after animals like cows, chickens or pigs or grow and harvest crops.
You’d operate farm machinery and do general repairs.
You could work on any of the three main types of farm:
- Farms that only have animals – livestock
- Farms that only have crops – arable
- Farms that have both – mixed
Your work would vary depending on the type of farm and the time of year.
If you work with livestock you would
- Feed the animals
- Clean (muck out) the buildings they are kept in
- Care for sick or newborn livestock
- Use milking machines with dairy cows
On an arable farm you would:
- Plough fields
- Sow seeds
- Spread fertiliser
- Spray crops with pesticides or weedkillers
- Harvest the crops
There are lots of other general tasks you’d do regardless of what type of farm you work on.
You would:
- Operate farm machinery and vehicles such as tractors and combine harvesters
- Maintain and repair farm buildings
- Lay and trim hedges
- Dig and clear ditches
- Put up and mend fences
Your work would be supervised by the farm owner, manager, supervisor or landowner. You might also supervise casual staff and agricultural contractors.
You’d need to develop technical knowledge for using the machinery and have an awareness of health and safety.
Working conditions
Hours
Environment
UK employment status
Full-time
58%
Part-time
16%
Self employed
26%
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- Positive attitude
- Resilience
- Cooperating
- Verbal communication
- Working with numbers
- Social conscience
- Attention to detail
- Taking initiative
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Qualifications
There are no set qualifications required to become a farm worker,but it helps to have an interest in farming and working outdoors.
You may be able to train through a Modern Apprenticeship. This combines on-the-job and off-the-job training leading to relevant Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs).
You could do a college course before starting work, for example a National Certificate (NC) in agriculture or relevant SVQ at level 2.
Helpful to have
Experience of working on a farm, for example from a weekend or holiday job, dairy work or crop picking would be useful.
Qualifications that include relevant work experience such as Skills for Work Rural Skills (SCQF level 4) may be of value.
Once in work you can gain relevant qualifications such as a Scottish Vocational Qualification in Agriculture (SVQ 2/3).