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Aussie farming jobs to boom by 2024
IT’S a great time to train for a career in agriculture, accord- ing to a study by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research.
Minister for Agricul- ture David Littleproud welcomed the find- ings, which list mana- gerial jobs, including farm managers, as the sector that will have the second-most num- ber of job openings by 2024 – 10,100 per year or almost 81,000 total.
“The future looks bright for a job in agri- culture,” Minister Lit- tleproud said.
“Famers are the backbone of our re- gional communities, supporting local jobs and the social fabric of our towns.
“As farming gets more mechanised, so will the associated jobs.
“People with IT ex- pertise, business savvy and specialised skills will be more and more in demand in and around farms.
“Farmers have al-
ways been natural in- novators, and advanc- es in science, drones and smart devices are now playing key roles in making our farms more efficient and profitable.
“The good news is innovation and tech- nology look set to cre- ate more jobs on our farms, not less.”
The Government is working with industry to ensure full advan- tage is taken of these job opportunities, in- vesting in research and development to improve farm-gate productivity and prof- itability.
“Through our free- trade agreements we are also opening up new markets for our produce, creating more jobs and helping to lift our agriculture sector towards being a $100 billion industry by 2030,” Minister Little- proud said.
The National Centre for Vocational Educa- tion Research report can be accessed at ncver.edu.au
WA teachers to head on-farm with innovative new program
IN a bid to help bridge the urban-rural divide, a new program will give educa- tors from across Western Australia the opportunity to spend time on-farm, learning first-hand from some of the state’s most innovative farmers about technology advancements in food and fibre produc- tion.
Developed to enhance the knowledge, practi- cal skills and networks of those teaching agricul- ture, science, technology, engineering and math- ematics and digital tech- nology subjects at high school, the Teacher Farm Experience Program is open to educators across the state who are keen to adopt the latest learnings in food and fibre produc- tion into their teaching programs.
TeacherFX is a joint ini- tiative of Rabobank’s WA Client Council – a group of the bank’s farming clients who meet to dis- cuss issues and implement initiatives to contribute to the sustainability of rural communities – and CQ- University Australia.
It will provide the op- portunity for up to 50 educators to take part in a two-day professional de- velopment program from July 23 to 24 this year.
Staying with farming families in the Narrogin region, the teachers will visit horticulture, broada- cre cropping and livestock
enterprises, with each farm showcasing their up- take of new technologies and sustainability prac- tices.
The second day of the program will extend on-farm learning with hands-on workshops run by industry professionals on various digital technol- ogies, including the use of GPS in the livestock sector.
Rabobank regional man- ager for Western Australia Crawford Taylor said by immersing the teachers in farm life and giving them a look at the lat- est advancements in food and fibre production, it was hoped their interest, passion and understand- ing of agriculture would increase and rub off on their students.
“One of the big chal- lenges for the ag sector, and an issue that has been identified by Rabobank’s Client Councils, is bridg- ing the urban-rural divide and attracting youth into agriculture,” Mr Taylor said.
“To address this, Ra- bobank has been running a Farm Experience Pro- gram since 2014, which has seen more than 150 city teens from across Australia spend a week living with farming fami- lies to learn about food and fibre production.
“We are now taking this one step further with TeacherFX, with the goal
being that each teacher at- tending the program will return to school and share the learnings and insights with the 30 or so students taking their class.
“We are also planning to showcase the technologi- cal advancements being made in the agricultur- al sector, as technology makes agriculture a very exciting and savvy indus- try for the next generation of farmers, scientists, con- servationists, agricultural engineers, consultants, innovators and other ag- ribusiness professionals to be involved in.”
CQUni senior research officer in agri-tech edu- cation and innovation Dr Amy Cosby said the university was excited to be providing professional support for the program’s development, the materi- als and resources to ap- ply the learnings into the classroom, and evaluation measures to record the success of the program.
“We hope that by equip- ping teachers with the practical tools and skills to incorporate the learn- ings into the Western Australian digital tech- nology and STEM cur- riculum, it will see stu- dents increasingly take up these subjects and perhaps stimulate their interest in studying these fields at university or college,” Dr Cosby said.
Rabobank WA Regional Client Council co-chair
Veronica Davies said the program is the first of its kind for teachers in WA and there are plans to roll it out in other parts of Australia.
“Once we have the first TeacherFX up and run- ning, we are aiming to roll out the program more broadly, both geographi- cally but also in terms of the material covered, so it can focus on technol- ogy and innovation in spe- cific sectors such as wine grapes, beef or grain,” Ms Davies said.
Ms Davies urged all teachers, regardless of what stage they are in their career, to take the opportunity and apply for a place in the inaugu-
ral TeacherFX.
“In WA, TeacherFX will
be a valuable contribution towards each teacher’s per- sonal development plan and we see this has great poten- tial to build the capacity of educators across the coun- try,” she said.
Funded by Rabobank’s WA Client Council, Ms Davies said there is no charge for teachers to attend the two-day pro- gram, with meals, accom- modation and return bus transport from Perth in- cluded.
Applications are open until June 15, 2018 via teacherfx.com.au or by contacting Dr Amy Cos- by on 0405 824 112 or a.cosby@cqu.edu.au
Rabobank regional manager for WA, Crawford Taylor.
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National Poultry Newspaper, May 2018 – Page 7