The second graduates of a new milking machinery technician's course have completed their qualification, with eight students from across the country becoming the second to hold the new Parlour Safe certification.

The Milking Equipment Association recently teamed up with Reaseheath College in Cheshire and Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, to establish an industry-wide training programme, Parlour Safe, that will give dairy farmers confidence in the ability of the parlour professional on their farm.

The scheme acknowledges the varying levels of knowledge and experience within the industry, so has devised four categories of qualification, each one having specific pre-requisites and offering even those most experienced an opportunity to learn and share information.

Mike Cullen, Parlour Safe course leader at Reaseheath, said: "The objective of the Parlour Safe scheme is to provide a common means of benchmarking and monitoring for assessing the competence of technicians and others employed within the milking equipment sector.

“It’s an excellent way of ensuring that farmers know who is ensuring their dairy equipment is working efficiently and is correctly maintained by someone with a recognised technical qualification.”

Ruth Bailey, CEO of the Milking Equipment Association, said: "We are delighted with the success of the course so far and also with the interest which has been already shown in next year’s intake of delegates.

“With milking equipment getting more and more sophisticated it’s crucial that we set highest standards for our technicians, and that farmers have the reassurance that they’re working with properly qualified individuals.

“A category 3 Parlour Safe technician can be professionally registered with the Engineering Council, after which he is able to use the initials ‘EngTech’ after his name, signifying that he has met the necessary competence and commitment standards.”