Careers, education and training

The agri-business gateway to industry schools program is actually part of our next gen ag program.

It aims to excite students about the variety of jobs in agriculture and the role that agriculture plays in food security and global markets.

Currently there's 67 schools in the project across Queensland. We have one teacher school that has a bush garden and they do things like soil management, soil monitoring and they use all of that data in their classrooms for their STEM work. And then we have a number of schools who are fully vertically integrated. They do everything on their school grounds from grow the calf to they plant the seed and then they eventually sell that product.

There's a whole new layer of farming that is now opening up with um you know smart farming digital technology and i think that you know the sensors and the smart farming network that we've set up has really helped the kids understand that there's a whole new level that didn't exist really 5 years ago that's now opening up, which is the future.

Before I did this course I didn't really realize how much technology is actually used in agriculture. When i sort of pictured agriculture it was more just done by hands like they did way back when. Now it's so different, like you can see how much technology they use. They use all these different sensors and drones and everything to see when crops are growing or how well they are. It's really cool.

It's exciting because even though agriculture is definitely fun just learning about the animals and the plants and how they work but it's also really fun being able to make your own experiments and learn your own things through testing using data,  technology.

When we look at the data if there's like a weight drop she'll look immediately into diseases that can cause that drop and i like to look (and she looks at food, yeah I look at nutrition because I really want to get the alpacas onto a diet that will help them to stay at a steady weight that's healthy for them.

AgTech is important to our department because it offers opportunities in efficiencies so it's important that we get students really involved in ag tech like Corinda has been and we have many schools that are doing a similar work because these roles are going to be the roles of the future and we're going to augment our current roles into future roles.

I think the agribusiness program and the you know the funding that we've got from the agri business grant it's definitely like opened up the possibilities for some students and made them see things that they would not have considered as a career.

You know that they now realize that this is something that I can make my passion that I really can pursue. That then leads kids to think well this is what I would like to do for a career. You know this is a journey I would like to take, I hope.

Many students who take part in the agribusiness program go on to study or work in the agriculture industry. Many of these jobs haven't even been thought of yet.

Because there are so many fields in agriculture I'd love to be part of one of those when I'm older and leave school.

Since we've come to the school it's just 'my god, wow, this is amazing. I really want to do this later on in life'.

The Queensland Agriculture Workforce Network, or QAWN, is a free service that supports Queensland agribusiness,  regardless of commodity or organisation membership to attract, train, and retain workers.

Funded by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, QAWN is a network of industry based officers who work with producers and operators across the supply chain to address recruitment and skilling issues.

Importantly, the programme is available across the state, is regionally based, and is supported by peak agriculture bodies who host the workforce offices in local offices.

Current QAWN industry partners include Queensland Farmers' Federation, Growcom, CHRRUP, Bowen Gumlu Growers Association, Bundaberg Fruit & Vegetable Growers, CANEGROWERS Mackay, FNQ Growers.

TASSAL produces Australia's largest production of farmed tiger prawns.

So with the implementation of the QAWN programme for us when we commenced our operations in Northern Queensland, it was really a critical component to build those partnerships with the different stakeholders and looking at the other agribusinesses within the area that we can partnership with.

The agriculture and aquaculture industry is critical in the future prosperity of North Queensland.

You know, looking at our future economy, the success of those industries is going to be key to ensuring we're a prosperous region.

The QAWN programme is vital to that, ensuring that we've got the workers that we need to go into the future.

The QAWN programme offers the businesses the opportunity to connect with a locally based QAWN officer. It means that they really understand what the needs are of the community and what facilities and infrastructure that they can access, including training that they can get involved in.

Bare Essentials produces leafy green vegetables and herbs here in the Lockyer Valley, Queensland. We've been growing since 1914 and we supply Australia wide. The type of barriers that Bare Essentials faces with employment is attracting staff that are interested in agriculture and really see themselves as part of the agri industry and are after a career.

The QAWN programme has provided Bare Essentials with specific assistance in relation to finding staff and training them and helping us to connect with them.

QAWN officers are members of several working groups and member networks, and we're constantly updated with  information that we then share with businesses to support their labour needs.

We provide advice and guidance on workforce attraction, recruitment, and development. And we form connections that will assist in building a strong workforce for the future of the agricultural sector.

My farm currently produces sugar for Bundy Sugar and we grow peanuts, which yeah, goes into the peanut butter brands.

I can see in the next generation coming through, there's been, from what I can see, a big disconnect from kids knowing where their food comes from.

So the QAWN programme has been good because it can, you know, bring the current students from this generation at school out to real working farms. I actually had a girl that I did a few weeks work over the Christmas holidays, and I think she's gone on to get, you know, a job after school on a property.

So the barriers we've faced and specifically around COVID has been finding local employees that are ag specific. So obviously that brings with it some skill gap, experience gaps, and knowledge gaps.

So the QAWN programme has allowed us to utilise, I guess, third party resources to find people like Cody who are ag passionate.

I've grown up with agriculture my whole life. My father worked on state cattle stations. I've got friends and family that own properties. I'm come from a country town myself, and I've just grown up with agriculture and I've grown to love it.

Summer's Harvest Programme was a programme that was started up a few years ago to help kids that love agriculture work in the ag industry. The advice I'd give to other young people is have a go. You're not going to fully embrace it if you don't give it a go, get your hands dirty, and get the full experience for yourself.

I can stand here and tell you what it's like but you won't understand for yourself unless you go and give it a go.

Contact your local QAWN officer for support in attracting, retaining, and training workers for your business.