The successful candidates will begin the new 18-month course in January. All 14 applicants interviewed impressed the selection panel with their enthusiasm and varied range of experience.

What shone through from the 11 successful candidates was their ambition to develop in their role and progress their career within their business.

Course leader Alistair Gibb of Cedar Associates said: "The PMDS programme is clearly seen as a vehicle to help them achieve this and address the challenges they currently face in their respective businesses.”

John Dunning, 29, is one of the successful applicants looking forward to getting started. He said: “It will be great to meet other pig producers from around the country that I would not normally have the chance to do – I think we will learn a lot from each other.

“Continuous professional development is very important to me and this scheme is just right for me to progress to the next level in my role so that I can contribute even more to the business. Learning about staff management and planning change will be particularly useful.”

Managers will attend a number of training sessions during the course. Each will kick off with an evening presentation focusing on a particular sector of the industry, followed by a day of management training delivered by Cedar Associates. Plus, there will be work-based projects relevant to the manager’s current role.

On successful completion of the course, managers will gain a nationally recognised qualification from the Institute of Leadership and Management. A total of 24 applications were received for this pilot scheme, which is expected to become a regular fixture and aims to improve the recruitment and retention of high quality staff within the industry.

Selected candidates:

Paul Hume, East Anglian Pigs Ltd, NORFOLK

Helen Hooks, East Anglian Pigs Ltd, NORFOLK

Lizzie Press, BQP, SUFFOLK

Steve Newing, Blanchard Enterprises, OXFORDSHIRE

Ewan Saile, S J Watchorn, SUFFOLK

John Dunning, A F Freemantle & Son, DEVON

Philip Harman, Yorkwold, YORKSHIRE

Kate Ashman, New Barn Farm, BERKSHIRE

Andrew Palmer, Dent Ltd, LINCOLNSHIRE

Trevor Digby, Midland Pig Production, STAFFORDSHIRE

David Childerhouse, T&D Childerhouse, SUFFOLK  

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Photos are available