Iona comes full circle with latest role at Laurencekirk-based agricultural co-operative
When Iona Finlayson started Ringlink’s Land-based Pre-apprenticeship scheme in 2017, she struggled with anxiety and a lack of confidence.
Fast forward to 2025 and the 25-year-old is now a trainee contracts co-ordinator in Ringlink’s Elgin office.
Her journey is a powerful demonstration of how getting stuck into a structured, practical programme can transform not just a career, but a young person’s self-belief.
It bridges the gap between an interest in agriculture and having the actual skills needed to do the job. Iona has spent seven years getting hands-on and logistical experience, and she’s now brought that whole package back to the organisation that first gave her a chance.
Ditching the classroom for the fields
Growing up around Beauly, Iona was always passionate about farming and the outdoors. After doing her National Certificate (NC) in agriculture at SRUC Craibstone, she decided she’d had enough of textbooks.
“I felt I’d done the theory bit, so I wanted a bit more practical experience,” said Iona.
“I was interested in farming, but without the pre-apprenticeship I would probably have just given up on trying to get into jobs because I had no background in agriculture.”
Iona’s anxiety had led her to leave formal education, and she knew she had a big skills gap on the practical side. Looking back at her struggles with talking to people, her development is genuinely inspiring.
“I just couldn’t face people and talk to them without going into a massive freak-out. But there’s a huge difference now to what I was then. Now I rarely shut up!”
Tractor driving and show champions
The pre-apprenticeship instantly threw Iona into the deep end. After some time on a mixed farm in Moray and a stint on pig farms, she got stuck into the main practical part of the scheme with mentor Stephen Mackenzie on a mixed farm at Auchmore, west of Muir of Ord.
This placement was huge for her. Stephen’s patience helped her build the core farming skills she needed.
“He was lovely and taught me a lot of stuff,” she said. “Stephen had the patience to teach me how to do things like reverse a tractor and trailer or to muck out a shed.”
A real high point was when Iona, who had learned how to show cattle in a previous job, was asked to help train the farm’s new pedigree Beef Shorthorn herd for showing.
“We ended up getting champion at the Black Isle Show,” she recalls proudly.
“The fact that they trusted me to show them how to help with the cattle made me feel like somebody believed in me a little bit.”
Getting stuck in at the grain store
After her pre-apprenticeship, and turning 18 during her subsequent Higher National Certificate (HNC) in agriculture, Iona worked for herself doing sheep work.
She’s still got that passion – she manages a small flock of eight Texel ewes and three tup lambs, alongside her loyal collie, Linn. She says her sheep “fill a little bit of a void” and keep her happy, showing that farming is still her true love.
The next major step was three years at a grain store for Simpsons Malt in Keith. This full-time job, which involved everything from admin to loading lorries, massively boosted her communication and people skills. It proved just how far she’d come since those early days of anxiety.
Back home and crushing it
Iona had been eyeing a farm trader job and when she saw a vacancy at Ringlink, she applied on a whim, not expecting them to look twice at her CV.
In fact, her mix of practical farm knowledge and logistics experience was so impressive that Ringlink created a trainee position specifically for her.
Now, as a trainee contracts co-ordinator, Iona spends her days buying and selling commodities – mainly barley and fertiliser – for Ringlink members.
Her unique experience shines through on every call. She’s seen the industry from a variety of angles: as a student, a hands-on apprentice, a self-employed contractor and a logistics employee.
“My practical experience is so useful,” she said. “When a member calls with an issue or needs to order something, I instantly understand what their business needs because I’ve done the job myself.”
That knowledge is key in a fast-moving market. Giving an example, she said: “We’ve managed to get quite a large tonnage to a lot of AD (anaerobic digestion) plants this year.
“They usually use rye grass but there’s a lack of that, so they’ve started buying barley and stuff. Because I know the process, I can negotiate and act fast. I know what they’re on about rather than having to go and find out.”
Iona’s story shows the real value of vocational training. It gives young people the technical skills, plus the crucial self-belief they need to go out and thrive.
She stresses that the pre-apprenticeship was the first step that gave her the confidence to pursue every subsequent industry role. And she’s keen for others to follow her lead.
“I was interested in farming but without the pre-apprenticeship, I would probably have just given up on trying to get into jobs because I had no background in agriculture.
“With a pre-apprenticeship, you’ll get the freedom to feel like you’re actually capable of doing things because the practical side of it is massive. You don’t have to stay in school until you’re 18 and then go to university.
“If it’s something you think you’ll enjoy, you’ll see there is an actual career in it.”
