Welcoming Gemma, and What We Actually Look For When We Recruit

By Jack Bosworth, Director, FJ Bosworth & Sons. Published 20 September 2023.

I hope everyone is well.

Harvest is in and dry. Cultivations are getting there, with drilling to start from the beginning of October.

A new member of the pigs team

We have recently had Gemma join the team on the pigs, and she has started the role exactly the way I had hoped.

This is Gemma’s first job in the pig industry, but she has previous experience of different dairy systems. When we discussed it at interview, we both felt that experience contained a lot of transferable skills. Working with livestock daily, paying close attention to animal behaviour, working as part of a tight team and handling a wide range of physical jobs are not pig-specific. They are the foundation, regardless of the species.

The first induction in our new staff facility

Gemma’s first morning involved a full induction. It was also the first induction we have run in our new staff facility, which is exactly the kind of moment that justifies the investment.

The induction covered:

• Moving and handling training.
• Health and safety requirements.
• Hazard awareness.
• History of the business.
• Structure and future plans.
• A full tour of the unit.

That time spent on day one should never be underestimated. Doing it properly is what tells a new starter, in actions rather than words, what the business actually values.

It was genuinely pleasing to get feedback from Gemma about how positive that first morning made her feel. Specifically, that she heard me emphasise the importance of safety, team morale, standards, communication, an open-door policy, and actually wanting to come to work each day.

Working across the whole unit

The team has historically operated as roughly half based on the breeding herd and half on the feeding herd. Gemma will be working across the whole unit.

There is a clear reason for that. We want her to:

• Get to know the daily operations and demands across the entire pig enterprise.
• Build the pathway we discussed at interview for future progression within the business.

A broader grounding makes for a more capable stockperson, and it makes succession planning across the unit easier too.

Still recruiting

We continue to recruit for other positions on the farm. Anyone interested can get in touch with me directly to learn more.

My focus when recruiting is on the characteristics of the applicant more than anything else. I have no doubt that everything else can be learned from our terrific team, and of course there are training courses that complement that.

The attributes that are non-negotiable, for the sake of our animals and the rest of the team:

• Patience.
• Calmness.
• Being a team player.

If you bring those three, we can teach the rest.

Welcome and good luck Gemma. We are all delighted to have you as part of the team, and hope this is the start of a long and successful career with us.

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Editor’s note (May 2026)

Recruitment is ongoing at FJ Bosworth & Sons across the pig enterprise, the arable enterprise, the contracting and hire side of the business, and at Procters Sausages. For current vacancies and more on what it is like to work with us, visit the Careers section of this site.

About the author

Jack Bosworth is a fourth-generation farmer and Director of FJ Bosworth & Sons, an arable and pig farming business at Spains Hall, Willingale, Essex. The farm has been in the family since 1919, and Jack farms alongside his father Stuart Bosworth, who was named Farmers Weekly Pig Farmer of the Year in 2011. The business is Red Tractor assured.

You can follow Jack’s articles on fjbosworth.com, or get in touch via the WhatsApp link on the site.