State must step up on ag jobs training: MP
THE State Government should be investing in training programs to help alleviate a “growing worker shortage in Queensland’s agricultural sector”, Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto said.
The Katter’s Australian Party MP said the industry was in need of skilled workers across different fields following the closure of the state’s Agricultural Training Colleges late last year.
“We’ve got farmers out there who are reporting that they are having trouble finding skilled labour. At a time during planting and harvesting season, they are finding it hard to attract machinery operators, packers, pickers and farm hands,” he said.
“I’m calling on the State Government to provide funding for specialised agricultural training programs that will help alleviate this skills shortage in vital essential industries like farming.
“Not everyone wants to be a tourism or hospitality worker and we should be creating opportunities for young people seeking a career in agribusiness. We desperately need more skilled workers on the land.”
Mr Dametto said agriculture was among a handful of industries in Australia that remained profitable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Alongside mining, agriculture is a crucial industry to not only Australia’s economy but our food-producing ability,” he said.
“These are money-making industries, not money absorbing. In 2018–19, the gross value of agricultural production in Queensland was $12.9 billion, which was 21 per cent of the total gross value of agricultural production in Australia at $60 billion.
“Farming these days relies heavily on modern technology, such as GPS field mapping, drones, best management practice programs, strategic fertiliser application and agronomy.
“It’s an exciting, evolving industry that focuses on not only being environmentally responsible but also how to get maximum yields at a time when productivity is paramount.”
Mr Dametto said Labor had cut the funding to agricultural training programs, “which in my view should be reinstated”.
“We need these programs rolled out across regional Queensland so we can train the next generation who will lead the agricultural industry into the future,” he said.
Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said he had been working closely with the Agricultural Coordination Group to ensure producers had appropriate access to seasonal labour.
“Many of the skills Mr Dametto has identified are trained on-farm to suit the individual producer’s requirements,” he said.
“Employers and students voted with their feet and moved to other forms of training.”
Mr Furner said the department continued to invest in agricultural education, including through the Agribusiness Gateway to Industry Schools Program that had partnered with more than 100 agricultural businesses.