Select tab

About

Honey bees impact all our lives in the UK and make an important contribution to agriculture, biosecurity and the environment.

If you work with honey bees, then our Level 1 Award in Introduction to Beekeeping could be for you.

It’s based on the British Beekeeping Association (BBKA) National Standards and will give you an opportunity to develop your skills.

The finer details

Our qualification is designed to assess your competence and knowledge of beekeeping across a range of occupational routes. If you do not need the whole qualification, you could still take elements of the course to demonstrate continuous professional development (CPD).

You will look at aspects of beekeeping, including:

  • Craft of beekeeping
  • Underlying biology
  • Health of bees
  • Production of honey
  • Bee Management
  • Relationship between bees and plants/crops
  • Impact on horticulture, land management, and biodiversity.

Worth noting:

If you are under 16 years of age you will need to get consent from a parent or guardian to take this qualification.

Delivery method

Practical observation and assessment

Course description:

Level 1 Award in Introduction to Beekeeping Download PDF

Who should attend?

Our Level 1 Introduction to Beekeeping Qualification is ideal for anyone interested in beekeeping, whether for personal or commercial benefit.

What will be covered?

There are six mandatory units to cover:

  • Practical Beekeeping
  • Health and Safety Awareness in Beekeeping
  • Pests, Diseases, and Hygiene
  • Awareness of Food Safety in the Collection of Honey
  • Understand the Interaction between Honey Bees and Flowering Plants
  • The Natural History of the Honey Bee and the Colony.

Here is a range of skills you will gain after completing the qualification:

  • An outline of the biology, life cycle, and behaviour of the honey bee, including interaction with plants and crops
  • An introduction to the appearance of a healthy hive, the basic indications of serious pests and diseases, and how to manage infestations
  • An introduction to the hygiene of a honey bee colony, techniques to prevent the transmission of , and the management of equipment
  • Practical beekeeping skills, including the set-up and use of equipment and the interpretation of the colony, and seasonal skills such as winter preparation, spring growth, swarm management and honey production
  • Skills for dealing with the removal of honey from beehives and the extraction and preparation of honey for sale
  • General health and safety advice for the hive, equipment use, how to deal with bee stings and skills for record keeping and customer service.
Search for providers near you

If there are no suitable courses listed above, please fill in the details below and this will display a list of other course providers who also deliver this course.