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  • Online & on-farm · part-time
  • Finish in 9 months
  • TWO INTAKES A YEAR
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Course Overview

GREEN CERT IRELAND

Course Overview

Your path, eligibility, how the course runs, on-farm days and placement, and how you're assessed — all in one place.
CHOOSE YOUR ROUTE

Choose your path

Your on-farm days and electives follow what you farm. Pick a path below for its full module list.

Dairy & Beef

Dairy and Beef as your elective.

Beef & Sheep (Drystock)

Beef and Sheep as your elective.

Tillage & Crops

Crop husbandry and equipment as your electives.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Eligibility & entry, in detail

Straight answers on accreditation, entry requirements and whether this course is right for you.

Yes. Same two QQI awards, from the same national awarding body — QQI. Every award spec, learning outcome and assessment detail is published on qqi.ie, so you can check for yourself. What's different is how we deliver it: online and on-farm, over nine months, built around working adults.
Yes. It's certified by QQI, and QQI's own panel reviewed our farm hubs, materials and assessment system before approving it. Forus Training is a QQI-registered provider with 25+ years delivering training across Ireland.
Farm successors getting qualified before a deed of transfer, working farmers making it official, and farm employees looking to take on more responsibilities. Most of our learners have a job, a farm, or both — the course is built around that.
No — online and on-farm. Most of it is from home: live evening classes on Zoom, plus your own study on the course portal. You’ll also attend 4 in-person on-farm days at partner farms, do on-farm skills demonstrations, and complete a work practice diary on a home or nominated farm. Full breakdown below, under On-farm experience.
Speed and fit. Nine months instead of a multi-year timetable, evenings instead of daytime classes, and real assessment support — practice papers, sample exams, and marking criteria shared before you're assessed. Our Farm Hub is currently in the Midlands, and we plan to open more as we grow. We're not the cheapest option, and we're not pretending to be — we're the one built around a working week.
It's a course from Forus Training, a QQI-registered national provider based in Mullingar, with 25+ years of delivery and 1,850+ Google reviews at 4.9★.
It's the learner permit for tractors and work vehicles, and you need one to join. If you don't have one yet, apply through the standard NDLS process — tell us where you're at and we'll advise on timing. It needs to be currently valid (Pink or Green).
You'll need a PPSN, or a National Insurance number, to receive the QQI award.
We'll look at your education background when you apply. If there are fluency concerns, you'll be asked to do a short test (aimed at Intermediate B2) with a speaking-and-listening interview. If you're accepted, your trainer is briefed to support you, and materials are written so translation tools can help while your English builds.

If you can book a flight on your phone, you can start this course — your IT skills build as you go. You’ll need a laptop or PC with decent internet (10mbps+), a modern browser, and Word or Google Docs. The course portal and support is a phone call away.

No — that’s exactly what Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is for. If your experience or past education covers ground the course does, RPL can shorten your route or support your entry. Bring whatever evidence you have to a consultation and we’ll map it to what it’s worth.

It might, through RPL — but it's not automatic. It depends on whether the modules and learning outcomes of your existing award actually match ours. Bring the details to a consultation and we'll map it with you.
Book a Consultation
The minimum age is 18. You can apply at 17, but you need to be 18 before the course starts. There’s no maximum age; the course suits adults of any age.
Often, yes. The value isn’t only the age-limited grants — it’s the qualification itself, the management skills, and reliefs that apply to any trained farmer regardless of age. See the Grants & Tax Reliefs guide for what’s not age-restricted, and we’ll be straight with you about what does and doesn’t apply.
Classes and study are online, so distance doesn't matter there. On-farm days currently run in the Midlands, so there's some travel involved for the 4 practical days — talk to us about your county before you commit.
NINE MONTHS, PART-TIME

Course structure & time

Live evening classes, online study and a clear timetable designed around a working week.

You have up to 15 months from registration to complete the course. You can join a later intake and continue where you left off. Any module you haven’t fully passed must be repeated in full.

If a serious medical issue affects your studies, you can request a deferral of up to six months by submitting a Course Deferral Request Form and a valid medical certificate. Approval is at Forus Training’s discretion.

Your payment plan will continue during any deferral or gap between intakes. Deferring your studies does not cancel or suspend your agreed payments.

For full details, please see our Compassionate Consideration Policy.
2 intakes per year: January and September. Places go first-come, first-served. View the timetable for exact dates.
Mondays and Wednesdays, 19:00–21:00. View the timetable for exact dates.
Only if you miss that specific class — the recording is sent to you directly, and you'll write a 250-word account of it. There's an 80% attendance requirement overall, with flexibility for genuine circumstances.
Full detail: Attendance Policy.
80% or more overall, and mandatory attendance on your on-farm days. We can consider extenuating circumstances within reason.
Purely for your safety on-farm — so we know what to plan for. A few examples: a pacemaker means staying clear of certain machinery; pregnancy and some medications carry real risks around sheep and tractor work; and knowing about things like ADHD, autism or bipolar disorder helps us support you properly. It's handled confidentially and is never used to screen you out.
If anything comes up at any stage — not just at application — tell your trainer so we can help.
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE

On-farm experience

Four practical farm days and complete a work practice diary on a home or nominated farm.

On-farm days
4 full days in total (about 8 hours each), planned to cover more than one module per day so there's variety in what you're doing. Our Farm Hub is currently in the Midlands — we plan to open more hubs across the country as we grow.
Example: on the Beef & Sheep path, one day might combine Farm Safety, Soils and Principles of Agriculture skills, while another covers both Beef and Sheep Husbandry — you're rarely doing just one thing all day.
We set them. For core modules you get a choice of Farm Hub location, but not the date. For your path's enterprise modules, the location depends on your enterprise (Dairy & Beef, Beef & Sheep, or Tillage & Crops). Everyone in your cohort attends the same days.
Vetted, inspected, insured commercial farms — including Signpost programme farms, Teagasc BETTER Farm participants, and award-winning organic and regenerative operations. Every hub passes a Farm Suitability Checklist and site visit covering safe facilities, stock access, safety statement, biosecurity and first aid, with handwashing and toilet facilities on site. You'll be given the PPE relevant to your skills for the day.
Your own clean wellingtons and overalls;
weather-appropriate gear;
whatever the task sheet on your course portal specifies;
PPE for the day — gloves, goggles, anti-cut gloves, boot covers, masks where indicated (biosecurity rules are briefed before you set foot in the yard);
and your own food and drink.
Each day opens with an induction from the host or trainer.
Yes — the Farm Hubs carry public liability insurance for training use, so you're covered during your skills assessments there.
There's no rescheduling for a no-show, late arrival, or last-minute request — a fee of €160 per day or half-day applies. Even then, you get one repeat, and that's it.
Compassionate consideration may be given where a genuine, extraordinary situation affects your ability to attend or submit on time.
Not yet — it's a module we're developing. Ask the team whether an optional ATV day is running for your intake, and what it would cost.
Work placement

You’ll complete 150 hours of work placement at Level 5 and another 150 hours at Level 6, on your home farm or a farm you nominate. Requirements will be confirmed at induction, and you’ll need to plan these hours around your work and other commitments.

Our programme lead or their deputy may visit the farm to review your placement and farm diary and offer support.

You’re responsible for arranging your placement. You can use your family farm or nominate another farm, provided it is insured, inspected and meets safety requirements.

The farm must keep good records and offer a range of everyday tasks for you to take part in and document in your work practice diary.

That balance is on you — you'll need to set aside enough time to complete your diary and tasks on your home or nominated farm.

You’ll attend an induction before starting your placement and receive support from your trainer throughout. A member of Green Cert Ireland’s Agriculture Department may also visit the farm to check on your progress.

You’ll keep and submit a work practice diary, which counts towards your award.

CLEAR SUPPORT

Assessment & results

You will know what is expected before each assessment, with practice materials and trainer support throughout.

You'll have sample exams and practice question banks with worked solutions before anything counts, skills demonstrations are marked against criteria you've already seen, and tutors are contactable every week.

You’ll receive provisional results within four weeks of submitting your assessments. Your certificate follows successful completion of both Level 5 and Level 6, in line with QQI’s certification schedule.

Expected certificate dates, provided you complete the course on schedule:

  • September 2026 intake: September 2027.
  • January 2027 intake: November 2027.

We offer learning supports, study skills and academic writing help, along with reasonable accommodations for teaching and assessments.

Please let our programme lead or their deputy know as early as possible so we can discuss your needs and arrange support. We’ll also ask about this during your suitability chat.

For full details, see our Reasonable Accommodations Policy.
Yes — plagiarism and academic integrity policies apply and are covered at induction.

Ready to get your Green Cert?

Applications for our next intake are open. Places on a first-come, first served basis.

Apply now
Green Cert Ireland by Forus Training
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