Ag apprentices - Have we missed the boat

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By Dwain Duxson

Ag apprentices - Have we missed the boat - I read today that fewer people are taking up University courses, and more people are opting for trade apprenticeships. 

It makes sense as the article said that 1st-year apprentices can be on a $50,000 annual salary. Yet University students get paid nothing and end their courses with a $30k-$40k (or more) HECS debt.

It got me thinking, have we missed the boat in Ag as far as an apprenticeship-like system is concerned? An official stepping-stone system for young people entering Ag would be great, and it would be a way to get non-Ag kids into the Ag sector under a formal model

An official Ag apprenticeship system would mean the mentors (the Farmers) would be more accountable for teaching these kids like a builder or plumber would. I think many Farmers would relish the responsibility of officially looking after someone as opposed to having a young person enter the business as an employee under no formal system. The system would need to have incentivised stepping stones once the apprenticeship is completed. If they stayed in the Farming system, then well and good, but how advantageous would it be to the Ag businesses outside Farming to have someone enter the business with a Farming apprenticeship under their belt? You just can't beat that Farming experience. Would a proper apprenticeship system work for Ag, do you reckon?

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