Beekeeper Education
 
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Beekeeping Qualifications available in UK and Ireland




FIBKA Examinations
SBA Examinations
WBKA Examinations
UBKA Examinations
BBKA Examinations
NDB Examination

The links on the left will take you to the correct page on the appropriate website. All the information you require should be there. For further information please contact the relevant organisation directly.

Many beekeepers have no interest in taking exams, but the facilities are there for those who do and I support them if that's what they want to do. In my view the reading of a syllabus will give the average beekeeper a reasonable idea of what to study. You can still study without taking an examination and I hope the relevant BKAs will support their material being used in that way, as it is contributing to the overall knowledge of beekeepers.

My approach to teaching is to give beginners a firm grounding in handling a colony, which I think is very important as everyone has to do it, then teach the "basics" which are needed to understand what is happening in a colony. This will allow the beginner to deal with most problems they will encounter and to do it safely with the utmost regard for the welfare of the bees. This should put the potential candidate in a good position in order to take their first exam or assessment if that is what they want to do.

A great deal of tuition is done by local associations, some of these also host examination sessions or issue their own certificates. A good BKA will make sure their members will have the utmost support to study for exams and may even invest in books and equipment to help them.

We must be careful of the attitude of some who seem to think that those with qualifications are better beekeepers than those without. As with everything else there are poor "qualified" beekeepers and very good "unqualified" ones.



Printed from Dave Cushman's website Live CD version