One of the golden rules in the Young Farming Champions program is to avoid re-enforcing the negative and using deficit language ( which agriculture by the way has turned into an artform)
But if we are going to address the pain points in the Action4Agriculture Action4Youth – Explore, Connect and Support young people to thrive in careers in agriculture Attract-Train-Retain Workforce Strategy and Roadmap we must be prepared to put our dirty linen out for washing
And like all forward thinking sectors there are times when self-awareness and self-reflection are key to being the change required to be the image you want the world to see.
The graphics below are from the YouthInsight Study done in WA in2017
Scott Graham from Barker College has identified others
Action4Agriculture’s work in schools has shown it IS possible to change of teachers and students images and perceptions
Its possible to raise awareness of the diversity of careers
But we cant do it alone and Scott Graham and Barker College cant do it alone.
Creating resources and putting them on a website and hoping teachers see them is an equally ad hoc transaction that it not a best return on investment of expectations for anyone.
None of us can do it alone and we cant do it in silos.
How do we build a culture of co-operation in the agriculture sector because we are not alone in needing to attract the best and brightest
Job vacancies rose 18.5 per cent to hit a record of 396,100 in the three months to November 30 as employers embarked on a hiring spree at the end of the delta lockdowns in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported