SKILLS shortages have been a major problem for many Australian industries, and now those involved in farming and agriculture have joined other sectors in calling for action.
SKILLS shortages have been a major problem for many Australian industries, and now those involved in farming and agriculture have joined other sectors in calling for action.
Agricultural industry groups say the skills shortages have resulted from a combination of rural areas’ lack of appeal to a young workforce, and limitations in education for those in farming.
“The global financial crisis and drought have masked a critical workforce deficit across regional Australia. We calculate that over 100,000 jobs need to be filled in agriculture for farms to return to full production,” National Farmers Federation president David Crombie said.
Agrifood Skills Australia – the industry training body for Australia’s $200 billion agriculture sector – has also released a report into skills shortages and how vocational education and training (VET) could help to address the problem in Australia.
ASA is pushing for changes to the VET funding structures in Australia, which would allow workers in the agriculture industry to develop specific skill sets – a move the industry body says will facilitate greater productivity in agriculture.
ASA chief executive Arthur Blewitt told WA Business News the VET system must be reformed in order to spark innovation and attract workers to the industry.
“In most states you can’t get public funding for education unless you are doing a full qualification. A lot of our people don’t need full qualifications, they need what we call skill sets,” Mr Blewitt said.
“There are lots of jobs people can do without being fully qualified. To go on to a farm to drive a tractor or do a farmhand job, you don’t need a full qualification but you do need enough competency to be able to do the job.
“We are calling for a change in the policy at a federal and state level to fund what we call the incremental approach to skills – gradually you get sets of skills to do the job.”
WA Farmers Federation director of policy, Alan Hill, also believes the funding policies need reform.
“There needs to be reconsideration – some of those funding structures are very rigid in their guidelines,” Mr Hill said.
By providing public funding for skills set development, Mr Blewitt believes more workers would be attracted to the agriculture industry.
“There is a very strong distinction now between a job and what people will train for; there is a reluctance to train for something unless they can see a job at the end of it,” Mr Blewitt said.
“It’s quite sad there are 1.3 million Australians under-employed or unemployed, often in the cities and the coast, and it’s very hard to entice them to go to the country.
“Industry has a hand in that, we have to be strategic in how we design jobs to make them attractive to young people to create careers in agriculture, make it better rewarded.”
Curtin University’s head of agriculture and environment, Mark Gibberd, said education needed to be aligned with industry in order to combat workforce shortage issues.
“Education, particularly in the agriculture sector, can’t be disassociated from industry. Educational programs, whether they are tertiary degree delivery or institutionalised research, need to occur in a cooperative manner with industry,” he said.
“We can’t provide enough graduates to meet industry demands, there is no doubt about that. There are very impressive job opportunities for students who are able or willing to work in agricultural production, and indeed all processes of food production.”
