The Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund will support Victorian secondary schools to deliver the agriculture skills of the future by supporting students to transition into modern careers in agriculture.

The Victorian Government has committed $50 million over four years to the Agricultural College Modernisation Program (ACMP) to help more Victorians to pursue exciting careers in agriculture. Of this funding, $5.5 million has been allocated to the Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund (SSAF).

The objective of the Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund is to increase the number of young people pursuing training and/or working in agriculture by increasing:

  • Student and teacher awareness of agricultural careers and the range of opportunities available in the modern agricultural sector and in their local area,
  • Student access to agricultural training pathways utilising modern technology through VET delivered to secondary students and through school-based apprenticeships and traineeships,
  • The quality of agriculture training for school students through sharing of best practice delivery, connections to local employers and connections between education sectors,
  • Agricultural pathways accessible to all Victorian students through improved cultural safety and inclusion of Aboriginal students and other cohorts underrepresented in agricultural careers.

The Murray Mallee Local Learning and Employment Network (MMLLEN) successfully applied to the Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund and received funding for their Young People Farming the Future initiative. The Young People Farming the Future initiative will be delivered from November 2022 to March 2024 with actual program delivery occurring over the 2023 school year. Initiative co-design will occur in 2022 and initiative hand-over to local schools in 2024.

Young People Farming the Future Purpose

To research, co-design and implement a program designed to expose students to the diverse range of careers and career pathways within the Agriculture, Horticulture and related industries.

  • To drive the development of VETiS programs which reflect the needs of local industries and which generate employment candidates with the required range of locally informed industry and employability skills.
  • To develop a progression of Agriculture, Horticulture and related industries work exposure opportunities across all secondary year levels that becomes embedded long-term into the offerings for our local secondary students.

The Young People Farming the Future (YPFF) Initiative will deliver staged progressive engagement through an increasingly immersive model from Taste through to Train with the purpose of increasing awareness of both the breadth and diversity of local careers in agriculture/horticulture and related industries.

Stages of Young People Farming the Future

The four stages of the YPFF Initiative are:

Taste

Tasting events are delivered in school providing minimal disruption to scheduled learning whilst enabling access to awareness raising resources and opportunities for the greatest possible number of students. Tasting resources will include expos, purpose designed promotional materials (consistent and localised in theme and content), case studies (written and video), and local industry career pathways clearly mapped to education and training requirements – all utilising clear modern terminology for industry positions. Taste events are aimed at students from years 7-12.

Try

Try events are delivered on-site at industry partner locations. These events offer exposure to the breadth of possible careers available within an industry. Try events will include immersion days – one-day events for students who have an interest in an agriculture/horticulture or associated technical or specialist careers. Try events will be industry specific, enabling students to opt-in to areas of interest, or explore all areas. Try events are aimed at students from years 7-10.

Test

Test activities are 8 day on-site Work Inspiration experiences aimed at year 10 students. These are embedded opportunities to more thoroughly experience a ‘normal’ working week across a range of possible careers. Test activities will be carefully designed with industry partners to ensure high-quality learning and growth opportunities for our students.

Train

This phase of the Young People Farming the Future Initiative sits across all students from year 9-12 with an interest in a career in agriculture/horticulture or associated technical and specialist fields. Train programs and courses will be developed / adapted based on advice from industry partners, education providers (including schools) and student co-designers. The Train phase of the initiative will work to ensure local training meets local needs with the right balance of theory and practical, hands-on learning and clearly elucidated training pathways. Train will also create linkages with local and regional education opportunities (such as the SuniTAFE SMART FARM and Longerenong College).

If you would like more information about the Young People Farming the Future Initiative or if you’re a Agriculture/Horticulture business/employer that would like to get involved in promoting the industry to young people, please contact our office by filling out your name and details below.