Regional workforce development continues to be a critical focus for the Queensland Farmers’ Federation and our peak body members, Canegrowers, Cotton Australia and Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG).
On 30 June 2025 the Rural Jobs and Skills Alliance (RJSA) concluded. The RJSA was composed of industry members and government organisations tasked with providing leadership and advice on employment, skills, industry training, and workforce planning issues on behalf of Queensland’s agriculture industries.
Over the last 12 months the RJSA has aligned more closely with strategic Queensland agricultural workforce plans and strengthened member collaboration, specifically with TAFE Queensland, and other peak industry groups through SmartAg Queensland.
This week the RJSA was joined by the Hon. Tony Perrett MP, Minister for Primary Industries for a special meeting convened to mark the close of the current project and reflect on the alliance’s achievements, learnings, and for a discussion on the future direction of workforce initiatives for Queensland agriculture.
Through the industry-led SmartAg Queensland program, QFF and our peak body members have identified the significant potential for upskilling in the agriculture sector across four core pillars of technology, production, business and safety skills.
In 2024-25 more than 2,200 people were trained through the program in skills as diverse as cotton picker operator training, haulout operator training, Excel and truck licensing training.
Workforce skilling is just one piece of the workforce puzzle. As a sector agriculture has several persistent workforce challenges to manage including issues surrounding regional housing, infrastructure, and liveability.
With the RJSA ending in its current form, QFF and our members are eager to take the lessons and learnings of the alliance forward as we advocate for policy resolutions to overcome these challenges and find new opportunities for agricultural workforce development.