Agro businessman / agro businesswoman: training, further training, overview of schools, checklists

Here in Switzerland, agronomists are trained exclusively on a part-time basis in order to give them the opportunity to continue working at least 50 percent.

Training to become an agricultural clerk is a course that lasts six semesters, i.e. three years. During this time, you will attend a total of around 1500 lessons. This means that you have around 20 course days per semester, often on a Saturday, to ensure that you can continue to work. In addition to these courses, a project week is held twice a year. Although the continuing education, further training to become a certified agricultural business management assistant CHE is not exactly short, it is also realistic for people who are fully employed due to the Saturday dates. However, you should be aware that in addition to the lessons, there will be some preparation and follow-up time, which you should not underestimate. As a rule, self-study to the same extent as the lessons is expected, i.e. 1500 hours in total. It is best to ask the relevant schools directly about the additional time required (homework, preparation and follow-up work, exam preparation). They can usually give you a fairly realistic answer to this question based on experience. So talk to the training providers about training as an agricultural clerk and ask for all the necessary documents.

The training to become a certified agricultural business management assistant CHE provides sound business management and agricultural-specific knowledge. The continuing education, further training is aimed at people with an agricultural background who would like to take on management tasks in trade, marketing or consulting.

The following subject areas are typically part of the curriculum for training as an agricultural business management assistant:

• Agriculture: Overview of structures, markets and developments in the agricultural sector
• Agricultural trade: Fundamentals of national and international trade in agricultural products
• Economics: Understanding economic relationships and their significance for agriculture
• Accounting: Financial planning, bookkeeping and accounting
• Controlling: Instruments for corporate management and performance monitoring
• Personnel management: leadership skills, labor law and personnel planning
• Corporate management: strategic management, decision-making processes and organization
• Organization: Efficient design of structures and processes
• Logistics: flow of goods, warehousing and transportation in the agricultural sector
• Marketing and sales: product marketing, customer relations and sales techniques
• Communication: conversation, presentation techniques and negotiation skills
• Commercial law: Legal foundations in a commercial environment
• Statistics: data collection, evaluation and interpretation of key figures
• Commercial arithmetic: practical arithmetic skills for everyday working life
• Computer science: IT skills and digital tools in the work context
• German and French: linguistic confidence in everyday working life
• Correspondence: professional business communication in writing

The CHE Agricultural Business Management Assistant course provides a broad-based foundation for demanding activities in agricultural trade and related areas. It combines specialist knowledge with practical skills and is a solid preparation for management functions.

Important: The exact content of the agricultural business management assistant course may vary slightly depending on the school. It is recommended that you enquire directly with the desired educational institution. You can use our contact form to forward your inquiry directly to the desired school.

The CHE agricultural business management assistant course is a continuing education, further training course that requires interested parties to already have a sound basic education and professional experience in order to be able to continue their education in a targeted manner. In this case, this means

• Completed apprenticeship of at least three years in the agricultural industry or a related sector
• At least one year of professional experience in the agricultural sector after training
• Suitability assessment
• At least 50 percent professional activity in the agricultural sector in the case of part-time training (not with all providers)

The schools will provide you with detailed information on the admission requirements and prerequisites for continuing education, further training in agricultural business management CHE and will send you all the important documents without obligation.