{"id":91223,"date":"2014-12-05T12:45:46","date_gmt":"2014-12-05T02:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=91223"},"modified":"2020-11-20T17:38:22","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T07:38:22","slug":"blueprint-to-train-rural-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2014\/12\/05\/blueprint-to-train-rural-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"Blueprint To Train Rural Workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Agriculture Minister John McVeigh launches the Agriculture Education Blueprint at the Longreach Pastoral College earlier this week (Photo: DAFF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

December 5, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

The State Government has released a new Blueprint for Agricultural Education in Queensland aimed at encouraging more young people to consider a career on the land.<\/p>\n

Agriculture Minister John McVeigh said the blueprint would help set the direction of agricultural education from primary schools to universities, to create a highly skilled workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time we redefined the image of agricultural careers to shift the perception that the industry is only about \u2018getting your hands dirty,” Mr McVeigh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgriculture offers a many career pathways in areas such as business, science and supply-chain management.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said his department had been working closely with the agricultural sector to review its future training needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndustry would like to see agriculture courses become more commonplace in schools and students of all ages encouraged to expand their interest in agriculture,\u201d Mr McVeigh said.<\/p>\n

He said workforce development and the delivery of skills had been hampered in the past “by duplication and inefficient use of resources”.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to help to facilitate better links between the education sector and industry, as well as support high-quality teachers of agricultural subjects that meet current and emerging needs in the sector,” Mr McVeigh said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis blueprint will help prepare young people embarking on a career in agriculture, while also upskilling the existing agricultural workforce to support growth across the sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

An action plan for Queensland based on the blueprint will now be developed in consultation with the Industry Skills Advisory Group.<\/p>\n