Articles & Insights
Internship programme for grain silo managers
Agbiz Grain and the Peritum Agri Institute are joining forces to grow a pipeline of work-ready grain silo managers in South Africa. In addition to affording 70 young people access to a career in grain storage, it also addresses the dire skills shortage in grain depot management.
South Africa produces an average of 13,5 million tonnes of maize and another 1,9 million tonnes of wheat annually. In addition to this, other grains such as barley and sorghum, as well as oilseeds such as sunflower, canola and soya beans are grown at scale.
Approximately 70% of this grain and oilseeds produced in South Africa are stored by the 12 members of Agbiz Grain. Collectively, these companies have 334 silo complexes that include concrete silos, silo bags, and bunkers.
The intake and storage of grains and oilseeds is in the hands of a grain depot manager who ensures that the product is classified and graded according to the Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (Act 119 of 1990) before it is allowed to be traded. Scavengers also dry, aerate, and smoke the product for safe storage.
Getting a grain silo manager professionally ready through exposure or work experience takes between eight and 12 years, and as a result this profession has been listed by AgriSETA as a critical and scarce skill. Agbiz Grain took the initiative and developed a qualification for the training of grain silo managers. The Occupational Certificate: Grain Depot Manager was accredited by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) in 2023.
Peritum Agri Institute was the first, and currently only, training company to obtain accreditation to offer this qualification. Peritum College, located in the Free State is currently the largest private agricultural college in South Africa.
The good news
Agbiz Grain members in the grain silo industry in South Africa, in collaboration with Peritum College, are now offering matriculants and young people under the age of 25 the chance to pursue a career in grain storage.
The Occupational Certificate: Grain Depot Manager is a practice-oriented study that is completed over a two-year period and prepares the student for a profession in grain storage management. In 2025, a guaranteed internship will be offered to 70 young South Africans who enrol for this field of study at the Peritum Agri Institute.
In 2025, enrolled students will attend seven academic study weeks at the Peritum Campus, followed by online study of the academic material and Teams-based time with their lecturers.
Click here to read full article for Agbiz Grain Quarterly – February 2025 issue.