13 Apr 2016
Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF), our industry members and AgForce continue to work together to improve how governments engage with industry on education and training matters.
After the 2015 election stakeholders agreed to shift from a “partnership” to a structured “alliance” model. Then Agriculture Minister Byrne was supportive and the Rural Jobs and Skills Alliance (RJSA) commenced last October.
The RJSA commissioned a skills survey and QFF Council was briefed recently by the independent researcher on early results. The research identified types of rural jobs, gaps in skill sets, and what industry requires of our education and training programs to deliver the workforce needed to grow Queensland agribusinesses.
The headline result was that the family farm remains the dominant business model in Queensland with 39% of survey respondents having ‘no employees’ so owner operators and family members continue to do all the work. However, it also tells us is that 61% of respondents do employ people, with the most common form (47%) of employment being casual seasonal work or contractors (53%). The survey showed growth in the contractor category from previous surveys and also that contractors require appropriate access to suitable skilling and training.
The survey data is now available on QFF’s website and will be used to guide further work with schools, trainers and universities into the future.
QFF currently acts as “lead agency” to facilitate rural industries’ engagement with the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. Rural and allied industries will work through the RJSA to ensure industry needs are known to Ministers and departments that deliver quality training. QFF will also continue to help rural industries and government revamp the regional network of workforce advisors, known as Queensland Agricultural Workforce Network (QAWN) officers, who are located in six regional centres.
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