Plant breeder/geneticist : Employers and vacancy sources

Modern plant breeding is an increasingly sophisticated, high-investment business. The majority of commercial plant breeding takes place within the private sector. Plant breeding work is also carried out in a limited number of research institutes.

Plant breeders are employed in a range of areas including government research agencies, commercial plant breeding companies, genetic engineering firms and seed specialists.

The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB)  has over 50 member organisations made up of research institutes, companies that actively breed in the UK, and breeders' agents who represent varieties from continental breeders in the UK.

Government agricultural research agencies include a number of institutes funded or grant-aided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) , the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Research and Analysis Directorate (RERAD)  and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) . These include:

• Rothamsted Research  
• John Innes Centre  
• Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI)  

Breeding work in these institutes is also funded and undertaken by the commercial firms represented by the BSPB.

In the future, plants could be developed into 'biological factories' to harvest custom proteins and materials such as commercially valuable chemicals, vaccines, drugs, biodegradable plastics and biofuels. This is likely to lead to increased opportunities for employment within a range of biotechnology companies. However, these roles are likely to be slightly different from the role of a plant breeder/geneticist.

Sources of vacancies

• Farmers Weekly  
• Horticulture Week  
• Nature Jobs  
• New Scientist Jobs  
• Jobs.ac.uk  
• AgriSeek  
• Biotechnology Ireland   

The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB)  list of members is a source of contact details you can use to enquire about student placements or for making speculative applications. Most BSPB members advertise vacancies on their own company website.

Recruitment agencies such as MorePeople  sometimes handle vacancies.

Get tips on job hunting, CVs and covering letters and interviews.