change in entry qualifications for Basic Bee examination

Recent received a copy of a letter sent by Jim who amongst the many jobs he does for the dean forest bees runs the basic beekeeping course. I was appeal and shocked to read in the letter the the BBKA have changed the entry requirements before you can be assesed for the basic examination. Jim's letter is below, and having taken the course last year I could not agree with him more every beekeeper should aim to do a course or get regular help from an experience beekeeper before keeping bees, and the BBKA seem to have moved away from this..anyway here's Jims letter

As Trainer for the Dean Forest Branch of Gloucestershire BKA, about to start lectures for this year’s basic course, I am very concerned about the change the BBKA has made to the conditions of entry for the Basic Assessment. In past years “the candidate shall have managed at least one colony of bees for a minimum of 12 months or have attended a course in practical beekeeping”. This year the alternative choice to attend a course has been removed.

As there is no mention of a course in the prospectus, candidates could present themselves for the Basic, having received no formal training whatsoever. I attended the BBKA Forum on 3rd October 2009 which focussed on education. Is this one of the outcomes of this forum?

One of the aims of the BBKA Forum was to improve the quality of demonstrators and trainers. This change in entry conditions is a vote of no confidence in all the voluntary trainers giving up their time to promote the art of beekeeping. This change will also discourage new beekeepers from taking their Basic. Let us also remember that this assessment is meant to be “basic”. An extra hurdle has been introduced. Beekeepers will hopefully take a course early in the year, obtain their bees, and then in the second year probably have to take a refresher course to cover the oral part of the basic, which is two-thirds of the assessment. This will be added work for the trainers and demonstrators.

In Ireland, under the Federation of Irish Beekeepers (FIBKA), newcomers are given the opportunity at the Gormanston Summer School to attend lectures and demonstrations for three days, and then take the FIBKA equivalent of a basic assessment. The standard of the Irish basic is much lower than the BBKA version, but it does ensure that potential beekeepers can start their new hobby with the requisite knowledge.

I have been training beekeepers for three seasons, with all my candidates achieving passes at the Basic Assessment. The potential beekeepers, who attend my course, receive 12 hours of lectures, with detailed handouts, and then attend 6 practical sessions of 2 hours each at the branch apiary, where they practice handling bees under instruction.The candidate performs most of the work and learns to handle the bees correctly. In addition we run weekly apiary meetings where potential beekeepers are team members managing their own hives within the branch apiary.When they get their first nucleus we also provide as much assistance as they need. There have been a mixture of experienced beekeepers and newcomers. I find that the experienced, who have received no formal training, have the most difficulty handling bees as they have developed bad habits. Their knowledge of modern practices, especially Integrated Pest management, is also lacking.

By changing the conditions the BBKA will make it more difficult for beekeepers to take their Basic Assessment, and have added to the workload of all the voluntary trainers throughout the country. It may also put the bees in danger. If someone, who knows nothing about bees, just buys, or is given as a gift, a hive and bees, the bees are very often unknowingly mistreated. It is then that members of the association are called upon to sort out a crisis, or the bees are left to die at the end of the first season, due to lack of knowledge of the so-called beekeeper.

Ivor Davis wrote an article in the BBKA News in December 2007, and I quote:

“The Basic qualification is much like the driving licence – but for honeybees. Once you have taken it (and the pass rate is well over 95%) it shows that the beekeeper is competent to keep bees.”

There has obviously been a change in opinion since this article was written. This clearly states that the Basic qualification shows the beekeeper is competent to keep bees, not that beekeepers should keep bees as a pre-requisite to taking the Basic Assessment. With a pass rate of 95%, what was wrong with the previous conditions of entry for the Basic Assessment?