We all seem to make our own beginners courses - there's not a standard one, but using the BBKA Basic assessment syllabus as a measure of what a beekeeper should know about by the end of their first year or two of beekeeping is a good thing to aim for.
The basic assessment includes four sections:
Manipulation and Equipment. Practical Assessment of the Candidate’s ability to handle bees and beekeeping equipment and the ability to interpret what is observed.
Oral questioning and Assessment of the Candidate’s knowledge of Natural History and Beekeeping.
Oral questioning on Swarming, Swarm Control and effects.
Oral questioning on Diseases and Pests,
There's not a huge concentration on getting colonies through winter - with only two mentions of winter
able to give an elementary description of the way in which the honeybee colony passes the winter
able to describe how mice and other pests can be excluded from the hives in winter.
I would expect most clubs do a 'Getting bees ready for winter' talk at about the right time to give people a chance to carry out some of the steps.
The NBU do a leaflet, Preparing Your Colonies for Winter pdf
http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=167
Module 1 covers a bit more in depth about winter and preparation.
I think training needs to go hand in hand with mentoring too - so that people have support locally - for the weather differences you'd have in a big country, or even the difference in forage within a few miles in the UK.
The basic assessment includes four sections:
Manipulation and Equipment. Practical Assessment of the Candidate’s ability to handle bees and beekeeping equipment and the ability to interpret what is observed.
Oral questioning and Assessment of the Candidate’s knowledge of Natural History and Beekeeping.
Oral questioning on Swarming, Swarm Control and effects.
Oral questioning on Diseases and Pests,
There's not a huge concentration on getting colonies through winter - with only two mentions of winter
able to give an elementary description of the way in which the honeybee colony passes the winter
able to describe how mice and other pests can be excluded from the hives in winter.
I would expect most clubs do a 'Getting bees ready for winter' talk at about the right time to give people a chance to carry out some of the steps.
The NBU do a leaflet, Preparing Your Colonies for Winter pdf
http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=167
Module 1 covers a bit more in depth about winter and preparation.
I think training needs to go hand in hand with mentoring too - so that people have support locally - for the weather differences you'd have in a big country, or even the difference in forage within a few miles in the UK.