Each month, we put the spotlight on a Tirlán employee and for our November newsletter, we’re talking to Agri Training Coordinator Shane Aston

Shane Aston is the newly appointed Training Co-Ordinator for the Agri category farmer-facing and retail teams. Shane has only been in the role since February this year but has already made his mark and is quickly getting to know the teams across the Tirlán branch network as well as the farmer-facing teams.

It’s no surprise that Shane has made such as a strong start. As a former athlete and National Champion, specialising in the decathlon discipline, Shane now relishes the challenge of getting to grips with his new role.

“For me it’s the breadth of Tirlán’s business that I find most interesting. The biggest challenge is the geographical spread and getting around to all the 52 branches. It’s also the amount of different products and services that we provide in the branches and in-yard directly to farmers. On a basic level, I need to ensure everyone is compliant with the legislation required for all Agri-input products, as well as health and safety requirements.”

“Previously, I had a basic understanding of farming in general and it’s been a bit of a baptism of fire for sure getting to know the sector. But everyone here is super friendly and always there to answer my questions.”

When he started the role, Shane began with a training gap analysis for the team and set-up a centralised training database with all the training skills and certificates. “Now that we’ve figured out where we are, we can plan for training across the full team and can look at closing any gaps identified during the analysis.” He also works on what he calls ‘the value-add training programmes” such as new-starter induction, customer service and retail skills courses.

Shane feels strongly about the importance and opportunity the Tirlán FarmLife branch network has in terms of its place in communities.

“It should not be overlooked how important the Tirlán FarmLife branches are in local communities. Each one is a community hub. And it’s certainly a testament to the people in the teams that they are really respected by the locals, maintain great relationships with their customers and do their jobs really well on top of that.”

Shane delivers some of the training himself, such as manual handling and customer service, a role he relishes.

“I love travelling around the branches, chatting to people and understand what their training needs and wants are. I really want to understand their training needs beyond compliance and look to build on it. In my previous role with Athletics Ireland I delivered hundreds of courses so I’m comfortable teaching and training. I believe you can have fun while learning and build relationships with people at the same time.”

And how does Shane manage his busy schedule?

“I’m not the type of person to say no. James Kinsella, my manager, is excellent on keeping me on track. I would have a head full of dreams and James is really good at focusing my mind. It’s a skill I have to work on. I try to use the Tirlán gym twice per week and I’m contemplating the yoga class there as well.”

Outside of work, Shane is just as busy. He’s currently mastering the art of surfing!

“I’ve only starting surfing about 18 months ago but I’m fully committed. During Covid I picked it up as a new hobby but I always had an interest in it. I started off with surf lessons in Lahinch and I loved it, I try to get to Tramore every weekend. I’m not that good at it but that’s probably why I like it because I like the challenge and I didn’t have any water skills previously.

“I’ve competed in athletics since I was 15 and I’ll be 30 next year. I was training seven nights a week. Now that I’ve finished with athletics, I still like to train but not as intensely. I really like a challenge so I go for new hobbies. Doing the Two Peaks this year instilled a bit of a love of mountaineering in me so maybe that’s next!”