Agricultural Workforce Working Group pursuing national apprenticeship scheme

The wheels are in motion for an “exciting” agricultural apprenticeship scheme with a proposed model to be developed by early next year.

Farm groups, the federal government and unions are developing a national agriculture apprenticeship scheme in what would be a potential long-term solution to the industry’s worker and skills shortage.

The tripartite Agricultural Workforce Working Group has asked Skills Insight, the newly established agribusiness jobs and skills council, to develop a proposed model by early next year.

It will likely include industry-specific trades, such as tickets for dairy, broadacre cropping and livestock management.

National Farmers’ Federation workplace relations and legal affairs general manager Ben Rogers said the on-farm scheme was an “exciting, long-term plan”.

“Right now, agriculture is usually just seen as an occupation if you have grown up in a farming family or community,” he said.

“We want to be able to promote agriculture as a career opportunity outside of that traditional cohort and as a viable and legitimate alternative to traditional trades.”

Skills Insight chief executive Michael Hartman said while the project had “great potential” an industry steering committee must scope out potential employer, student and registered training provider support to progress the scheme.

The fourth piece of the jigsaw is securing regulatory approval at a state level, including any Award changes and funding increases for training that may be required.

“In the past barriers for industry development have been mainly capital and risk,” he said.

National Farmers’ Federation workplace relations and legal affairs general manager Ben Rogers

“Now the biggest barriers for industry aspirations are a lack of skilled people. The current economic and population growth profile for Australia says that any industry that does not think about these things and gets it right will struggle to attract the right people.

“This is a 10 to 20-year project but clearly it is urgently needed right now.”

The news comes as farmers continue to suffer through a worker shortage with the NFF last August estimating an extra 172,000 workers were needed across the food supply chain.

Meanwhile, the federal government is hoping to temporarily bridge the shortfall with a new skilled worker visa model for agriculture.

Currently, some agriculture training is offered through Certificate III courses.

However, the apprenticeship pathway would more than double the units of competency to over 30 and include industry-specific training, from management to mechanical skills to emerging ‘climate-smart’ techniques.

Central Queensland University senior research fellow Amy Cosby on her Leongatha South dairy farm. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Mr Rogers said while the apprenticeships would demand “a huge commitment on behalf of farmers” the “robust skill set and hands-on training” acquired by apprentices would be more relevant and helpful to their business “than a piece of paper earned sitting at a desk.”

Central Queensland University senior research fellow Amy Cosby, who is conducting research for the cotton and grains sectors to help inform the Skills Insight modelling, said there were currently no clear pathways into agriculture for school leavers and so many don’t bother with training.