At BBE-Tech Apiary Services, we help people to become professional Apiarists. Through classroom education, hands-on training and individualized coaching we work to prepare individuals to enter beekeeping as a career field whether they are self-employed or working for an established apiary.
Of course, Certification is really only important if you're considering entering beekeeping as a professional. If being a successful hobby beekeeper I'd your goal, the same programs will help you be more successful even without the certification.
We advise all new people to bees and beekeeping to start as an Intern. There is no cost to be an Intern with us. There is a commitment though. We ask that once you begin your internship to please stick with it and finish the season out.
Interns have no responsibility or real expectations on them regarding hive results or production. They are there mostly to familiarize themselves with being around bees and in an apiary. They learn the terminology and essentially work as a “Gofer” with Apprentices, Journeymen, and Apiarists.
During the Internship is a good time to start to take the “Basic Beekeeping” series of classes to prepare for the Apprentice level of training. There are Intern level resources online at the Bee Smart beekeeping project website to guide Interns through terminology and concepts of basic beekeeping.
Interns will have a basic knowledge exam that if passed successfully will result in a certificate verifying their Internship.
The Apprenticeship is a “pay for” education, training and certification program offered by BBE-Tech Apiary Services. It is essentially like going to a trade school.
Apprentices work side by side with a certified professional apiarist to get hands-on training and experience working with bees and hives.
Apprentices takes a series of classes in a classroom to gain the knowledge and understand the concepts being applied.
After successfully taking all the classes and completing the training program, Apprentices will take a series of written, verbal and applied skills exams. Successful passing of exams qualifies the Apprentice to move to the Journeyman level.
The Journeyman level of training takes the prospective apiarist into more advanced knowledge and skills. Building upon the knowledge and skills from the first season as an Apprentice.
During this stage is the best time to take the Advanced Beekeeping classes to prepare for the Apiarist certification exams.
Upon successful completion of these knowledge and demonstrated skills exams, the Journeyman will qualify to be certified as a professional Apiarist.