Australia is on the cusp of an agriculture career boom and Narrabri shire is taking a lead with innovative programs to encourage and train the new generations of agriculturalists.
Programs initiated and developed in Narrabri shire are aligning neatly with the increasing demand for a skilled agricultural workforce.
This week, students from five schools undertook a two day tour of production, marketing and processing agribusinesses in the district as part of the Agribusiness Career Access Pathway (AGCAP) program which was launched in Narrabri two years ago.
AGCAP comes under the umbrella of the innovative Make It Work program, also launched in Narrabri, to train and retain rural workers in the regions.
And both programs feed into the proposed Narrabri Regional Trades Training Centre now being planned to enable trades and tertirary studies side by side at Narrabri.
The changing landscape of Australian agriculture is creating a raft of opportunities across the sector, according to National Australia Bank general manager of agribusiness, Khan Horne.
“We have seen strong growth in corporate agriculture, increasing by around 40 per cent in the five years to 2011,” said Mr Horne.
A resurgence of interest in agriculture as a career has been gathering momentum in Australia, and Narrabri shire is leading with innovative programs to encourage and train the new generations of agriculturalists.
For the past two days, a group of students from the region has been enjoying the opportunities offered by the Agribusiness Career Access Pathway (AGCAP) program.
AGCAP was launched in Narrabri two years ago across five schools and has given students insights into the beef, sheep and wool industries in Tamworth, Armidale and Walcha.
This week, the agriculturalists of the future have been learning first hand from producers, processors and marketers based in Narrabri Shire.
“The AGCAP students, from Narrabri and Wee Waa High Schools, Farrer Agricultural College, Bingara High and other schools, are given a valuable ‘hands on’ insight into their industries by grains, cereals and cotton industry leaders,” said program co-ordinator, Russell Stewart.
Yesterday morning, the visiting students unpacked their swags at Narrabri Showground where they camped overnight in the main pavilion.
“Over the two days, the students were given personal briefings by some of the top agribusiness people in Australia,” said Mr Stewart.
“They visited Priag Marketing, Cotton Seed Distributors, Cotton Growers Services, Namoi Cotton, Sydney University Plant Breeding Institute, and the Narrabri Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.
“The aim is to show the students the exciting, big picture of the many career opportunities across agriculture and encourage them into those careers.
“The visits offer an unparalleled chance to learn from leaders in the field who give up their time to explain their operations.
“Not everyone can have this opportunity, and in fact many parents and others have asked to accompany the students.”
Narrabri High School agriculture teacher Emma Partridge said the AGCAP program helped students ‘firm up’ their career pathway thoughts on agriculture traineeships or at university level.
“One student hadn’t considered agriculture as a career and is now looking at tertiary studies after joining in AGCAP.”
The AGCAP project comes under the umbrella of the Make It Work program, initiated in Narrabri and now being adopted nationally, and is a key element in the development of the proposed Narrabri Regional Trades Training Centre, said Mr Stewart.
With global food demand predicted to increase by 50 percent in the next 20 years, trained workers at all levels of agriculture are going to be in demand.
The Trades Training Centre will play a key role in ensuring a skilled workforce is available to meet the challenges ahead in food and fibre production, technology, processing and marketing.