WHY GET A QUALIFICATION?

Owning or running a farm provides plenty of opportunities for you to gain skills and knowledge about all sorts of subjects from handling stock and chemicals, to financing and purchasing feed and equipment, to managing employees and contractors.

These skills are highly valued in the general workforce but in the past farmers and farm workers did not have the formal pieces of paper which acknowledged the skills and experience they possessed. This often put them on the back foot in terms of being confident about their ability and skills, especially when they found themselves looking for work on another farm or in another industry.

Getting qualified opens up opportunities for both you and your workers.

Farm Example (courtesy of Rural Training Council Australia)       When dairy farmer Christine Ireland achieved her Advanced Diploma in Rural Business Management it gave her an enormous boost in self-belief. "Achieving the formal qualification was an important step from a morale point of view: It means that 20 years experience in the dairy industry is testimony to your being a professional manager. I know now that if I went into the corporate farming world, I'd be quite confident of being able to manage at any level," Christine said. "I think it's great, particularly in the present uncertain climate where there's a lot of change, for the learning and knowledge of dairy farmers to be recognized. It testifies to dairy farmers being professional business people. And it also provides a qualification that someone could use off the farm if they decide to diversify into other industries."

When thinking about job opportunities there are now national training and qualification pathways in Agriculture and Horticulture. This means that for some jobs certain qualifications are recognised as necessary to do that job. For example some Departments of Agriculture recruit Certificate III and IV in Agriculture graduates as Technical and Quarantine Officers. Diploma and Advanced Diploma graduates may apply for positions with training institutions.

At least one university accepts the Certificate IV in Agriculture as entry to its Agribusiness Degree program.

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