THE Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association is accepting applications for its Next Generation Internship Scheme. The scheme has proven to help individuals carve out a successful career in the Irish bloodstock industry. Past interns have worked at sales companies, racecourses, leading stud farms and industry bodies, before going on to successful careers in the business. The internship is a one-year fully-paid internship offering candidates experience in two or three different industry areas.

The placements will begin in September, ahead of the sales season. Each employer will be required to appraise their intern throughout the relevant semester and report back to ITBA at the end of the period in question. In addition, the intern will be required to post a blog in industry publications and work on short video projects during each placement, designed to give exposure to both intern and employer.

Junior Internship

The Junior Internship is available to secondary school students in transition year aged 16 or over. The aim is to link students with a stud farm in their locality, where they can spend their work experience.

A short horse handling course will be offered to successful candidates, as well as continuous development of skills and knowledge from the stud farm team. There will also be several opportunities to shadow ITBA’s Next Generation Committee during sales days, race meetings and other industry events.

The closing date for applications for both programmes is 5pm on Friday, May 16th. Interviews will take place in May and June. Application forms and full terms can be found on itba.ie.

Further information is available on (045) 877543 or by emailing Hannah at hmarks@itba.ie