Taranaki Daily News

New agri-subject to lure students

- HEATHER CHALMERS

A new agribusine­ss secondary school subject is to be trialled at schools next year in a bid to attract ‘‘the brightest and best’’ to careers in the primary industries.

Initiated by St Paul’s Collegiate School in Hamilton, agribusine­ss will be included in the curriculum­s of 10 secondary schools in an NZQA trial, before becoming available to all secondary schools from 2018.

St Paul’s deputy headmaster Peter Hampton said agricultur­al and horticultu­ral science numbers at senior secondary schools were in decline and these industries were not attracting the brightest and best people.

Public perception­s were poor, with an assumption among young people that work in the agricultur­al sector was long hours, poorly paid, hard work, unsocial and boring.

‘‘Currently there is no structured programme at senior secondary school to attract bright, tertiary-capable students into agribusine­ss careers,’’ he said at a New Zealand Institute of Agricultur­al and Horticultu­ral Science forum at Lincoln University.

By 2025, primary industries will need 50,000 more people. Upskilling would also be required with 92,600 more people needed with qualificat­ions (up from 156,500 in 2012 to 249,100 in 2025). In the same period, workers with no post-school qualificat­ions were expected to drop from 197,000 to 154,300.

More skills were needed in farm systems, resource management, staff management, science and engineerin­g, marketing and technical support.

The subject’s focus was mainly beyond the farm gate and into the primary industry sectors. It was targeted at students strong in sciences or commerce and would have a link to university agribusine­ss courses. Topics covered by agribusine­ss include innovation, enterprise, technology, how companies operate, value chain, marketing, and food, soil and plant science.

Hampton said there was strong interest from more than 40 secondary schools, as well as sector interest, in the initiative. The agribusine­ss subject went across several traditiona­l subjects, encouragin­g teacher collaborat­ion. ‘‘Often it is the first time teachers have worked beyond the ‘silo’ of their own subject.’’ Students would gain achievemen­t standards at NCEA levels 2 and 3.

St Paul’s will host an agribusine­ss conference in April, aimed at secondary school principals, senior managers, board of trustee members and teachers of science, technology and commerce to learn more about the new subject.

 ??  ?? The primary sector wants to draw in more top students through a new agribusine­ss secondary school subject subject.to be trialled at schools next year.
The primary sector wants to draw in more top students through a new agribusine­ss secondary school subject subject.to be trialled at schools next year.

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