A new industry-led training program is supporting Queensland farmers to access high-quality, modern and flexible training across the state.
The new program, SmartAg Queensland, provides accredited, non-accredited and micro-credentialed training to the cotton, cane, horticulture, and grain industries, with a focus on delivering training in rural and regional locations.
SmartAg Queensland is being managed by the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) in partnership with their peak body members and with support from the Queensland Government.
QFF CEO Jo Sheppard said the industry-led training supports several strategic workforce objectives across the agriculture sector.
“An industry-led workforce skilling program is critical given the workforce challenges we are facing across the agriculture sector in Queensland,” Ms Sheppard said.
“Queensland farmers are leaders when it comes to implementing technology and on-farm best practice and SmartAg Queensland will help open flexible pathways for employees and employers to learn and upskill to help meet the short-term demand for skills.
“SmartAg Queensland will also contribute to building a long-term workforce pipeline for agriculture and help enable the sector be better positioned to attract, retain and train people with the transferable skills required for today and tomorrow’s farming enterprises.”
SmartAg Queensland has been developed based on the successes of the AgSkilled program which was delivered in New South Wales and addresses the action areas identified in the Queensland Agriculture Industry Workforce Plan (2022 – 2027).
These include workforce skilling, enhancing agribusiness adaptability and improving workforce attraction, diversity and retention.
Queensland Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Furner said the Queensland Government was proud to support a program that helped bring skilled workers to the agricultural sector.
“This program will help prepare a workforce that is ready to make a valuable contribution to the Queensland agricultural sector,” Mr Furner said.
“By upskilling Queenslanders to work on our farms we’re helping to unite primary producers with the workers they need and providing a pathway for Queenslanders to build careers in good, secure jobs in the regions.”
The delivery of SmartAg Queensland will be rolled out by QFF in partnership with their industry peak bodies, including Cotton Australia, Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG) and Canegrowers.
Cotton Australia’s Workforce policy officer Paul Sloman said he was pleased to be a part of the effort to kickstart the initiative.
“We understand the importance of having a skilled, trained and safe workforce and SmartAg Queensland will bridge many of the knowledge gaps we currently have in agriculture,” Mr Sloman said.
“Recently we trained 170 cotton industry employees through the Queensland Governments micro-credential program, and the demand was incredible. We expect the same level of demand for the training available under SmartAg QLD.”
Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers CEO Rachel Chambers welcomed the new initiative.
“SmartAg Queensland offers training across key learning areas horticultural growers have identified for continued industry prosperity and advancement,” Ms Chambers said.
“QFVG is proud to support this initiative and welcomes the opportunity for growers and their teams to develop these skills and bring real, immediate benefits back to their businesses.”
Canegrowers CEO Dan Galligan said SmartAg Queensland program would help address both workforce shortages in the agriculture sector and unemployment in regional communities.
“This is a fantastic initiative by QFF. The ag sector is screaming out for skilled workers, whether that’s farm hands, harvester operators, truck drivers, lab technicians, or any one of a multitude of other opportunities available in agriculture,” Mr Galligan said.
“At the same time, our regional communities are desperately in need of better access to training and employment opportunities. This program can help kill two birds with one stone.
“Many skills are transferable across different ag industries in different regions, meaning workers will have greater mobility and can take advantage of seasonal opportunities.”
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Media contact:
Anna Jones
Corporate Partnerships and Communications Manager, QFF
E: partnerships@qff.org.au
M: 0481 395 623