FDC scholarships deliver “research support, hands-on experience and fantastic career opportunities”
Amy McMahon, past FDC scholar and current FDC employee; Olive McCarthy, senior lecturer and director of the Centre for Co-operative Studies, UCC; Monica Gorman, Associate Professor in Agricultural Extension and Innovation, UCD; Liam Dillon, FDC training manager; Ashley Traynor, FDC scholar; Flora Seddon, FDC scholar; Caillin McLoughlin, FDC scholar; Seán Murphy, FDC scholar; Paddy O’Brien, FDC scholar; Meabh Flanagan, FDC scholar; Pat Williams, FDC area manager; Jack Kennedy, past FDC scholar and current FDC employee; Eimear Tobin, past FDC Scholar and current FDC employee; and Gráinne Ahern, past FDC scholar and current FDC employee.
Scholarships on offer from FDC Group offer support with research, vital hands-on experience, useful contacts and fantastic career opportunities, as well as the potential to bring fresh innovation to a growing sector in Ireland.
That is according to recent graduates who received support from FDC during their studies and beyond. The FDC Group specialises in financial management, planning and consulting across the agriculture, SME and corporate sectors.
The FDC (Farm Development Co-Op) story began in 1973 in Dunmanway when it was established by Jack Murphy, General Manager. Today, the FDC Group headquarters is located in FDC House, Wellington Road, Cork.
The group now employs more than 430 people across 39 different locations nationwide, growth that has been achieved through continuous referrals and practice acquisitions which has led FDC Group to now being within the top 10 Accountancy firms in Ireland.
The FDC group offers a wide range of services such as accounting, tax and legal, financial services, agri consultancy, advisory, banking, audit and client business IT solutions, to a wide range of clients, including farmers, SMEs, family businesses, commercial agribusiness, self-employed professionals and contractors.
To ensure a steady pipeline of talent and innovation at the company, FDC established a scholarship programme at University College Cork.
The Jack Murphy Scholarship programme, now in its fifth year, provides 20 students with a €12,500 bursary each, and a placement with FDC group With the UCC scholarship programme proving successful, FDC expanded its scholarship offering last year, launching a new annual scholarship programme with University College Dublin, available to students enrolled on the MSc in Agricultural Extension and Innovation programme.
The scholarships, valued at €50,000 per annum, support FDC’s agricultural consultancy side of the business.
Gráinne Ahern was among the first students to receive the FDC scholarship in UCD. Speaking to The Irish Examiner, Ms Ahern said the scholarship had an incredible impact on her studies and her career since graduating.
“I was lucky enough to be awarded an FDC Group Scholarship during my postgraduate studies in MScAgr in Agricultural Extension and Innovation at UCD,” she explained. “This gave me the opportunity to carry out research on farmer learning behaviours on behalf of the organisation.”
Ms Ahern now works on FDC’s professional services team where her role revolves around enhancing the company’s agricultural footprint, seeking research opportunities, and complimenting the learning needs of those within FDC Group.
Speaking about receiving the FDC Scholarship, Ms Ahern said: “It’s very rare to get such support. A work placement wasn’t part of the course I was on but I was offered a bursary and that opportunity by FDC who gave me my research topic.
“I was also given an extra opportunity to work with the company. That provided me with support for my research, hands-on experience, fantastic contacts and a fantastic career,” she explained.
“It allowed me to excel in my professional career and it was the best thing that could have happened to my postgraduate studies.”
Amy McMahon was among those to receive the FDC scholarship at UCC, after she applied for the FDC Group Scholarship as part of her MSc in Management & Marketing at the university.
She is now a marketing executive with FDC Group.
“I’m extremely grateful for the support and generosity of FDC Group for the opportunity,” she told The Irish Examiner.
“Earlier this year, I started working with the marketing team while completing my studies and research project. Now, as a graduate, I’m fortunate enough to continue my work as a Marketing Executive at FDC Group. I was particularly eager to obtain the FDC Group Scholarship for the six-month placement involved,” Ms McMahon explained further.
“To have the opportunity to work for the marketing team of such an established Irish company really drew me to the scholarship. I never expected to have the hands-on experience I’ve been exposed to.
“I’ve gained incredible experience executing internal campaigns to a nationwide network of over 400 staff members as well as external promotion to our current and prospective clients.
“One of my passion projects is working on the early careers recruitment alongside the training team,” she added. “We are excited to enhance the current marketing of the FDC Group Scholarship, graduate programme and undergraduate placements.
“It’s a difficult time for recruitment and retention in every field, so it’s brilliant, from my perspective, to be able to realise an idea to encourage students and graduates to join our team.
“I’ve always found FDC Group to be incredibly supportive and progressive in this way.” Ms McMahon explained that one of the reasons behind the FDC scholarship is to bring new and fresh ideas into the company. The FDC Scholars are valued and listened to as soon as they walk in our office door,” she said.
Liam Dillon, regional manager with FDC, also highlighted the potential for scholars to bring fresh innovation to FDC, emphasising the importance of the scholarships on offer from FDC Group.
He also highlighted the importance of taking on people with experience in research, conducted on behalf of FDC, in areas ranging from sustainability and marketing to continuous professional development and more.
“It is a case of being able to expand our offering to our client base through research, through that diversification. Bringing in the professionalism that comes from a Masters student is something we’ve developed at FDC. Our services are geared towards the rural communities we serve,” he added. “FDC is essentially geared towards servicing rural Ireland be it the agriculture client, SME, independent trading client and more.”
Mr Dillon explained that demand for FDC’s services has increased recently.
“There has never been more of a need for financial services in rural Ireland with regards to the balancing of the cost of living, economic upturn and people wanting to know how to spend their money more wisely, where to invest and where not to invest.
“Our aim is to continue our presence in rural Ireland and to continue offering our services.”
With that in mind, FDC is keen to explore further expansion of its scholarship programme.
The cooperative already boasts two scholarship programmes — one in UCC and one in UCD — and is keen to expand on that offering to ensure that it continues to meet the growing demands of the sector.
“We’re seeking to start a scholarship with SETU (South East Technological University) — we’re keen to expand our scholarship programme among universities,” explained Mr Dillon. "Our scholarships are aimed at the roles we need here in FDC.
“For example, in the agriculture space, we need to double, if not triple, our agricultural services in the coming years,” he added. “That is to meet the demand for our services. We view our scholarships as a strategic way of ensuring that the demand is met.”
