Three Donegal natives have been selected as part of the Bord Bia Talent Academy and will do a masters with UCD Smurfit business school while also completing 23 months’ industry placement.
Cliona Regan from Mountcharles, Darragh Boyd from Raphoe and Conor Quinn from Buncrana are three of 69 new recruits joining Bord Bia’s Talent Academy.
It is Bord Bia’s largest-ever investment in talent acquisition for the Irish food and drink industry, in its 25-year history.
The Talent Academy features four programmes run in conjunction with UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and gives students the opportunity to gain professional food and drink industry experience while undertaking a Masters programme with UCD.
Michael Murphy, Industry Talent Director at Bord Bia commented: “Investing in talent is a key priority for Bord Bia and through our talent programmes we are ensuring that we attract the best people into the food and drink industry.
“The new recruits, who underwent a rigorous selection process, come from a range of academic and professional backgrounds and bring a variety of skills and aptitudes to their respective roles.
“They can expect a hothouse environment over the next weeks and months; a place where their talent will be nurtured in order to drive the success and growth of the Irish food and drink industry.”
Boyd will be based in the UK as a Bord Bia Marketing Fellow, working on behalf of Irish food and drink companies wishing to grow and defend Irish exports to the UK.
In total 19 graduates join the Fellowship programme with placements across the globe including Mexico, Vietnam, Tokyo, Dubai, New York, Stockholm and the UK.
Regan (based in Dublin) is one of 32 International Graduates who will work directly with Bord Bia, placed in one of Bord Bia’s network of 14 offices worldwide.
Ten recruits will be placed overseas with multinational food and beverage organisations as Origin Green Ambassadors working to implement the principles of the Origin Green programme into their sustainability plans.
Quinn is one of eight recruits to the Retail and Foodservice Account Management programme, who will work with major UK retailers to secure business for Irish suppliers.
Following an immersion and study period of three to five weeks (depending on their chosen programme), the new recruits take up their roles around the world. For the remainder of the programme, recruits will undergo block release modules with UCD Michael Smurfit and complete academic assignments that support real business and marketing projects.
