Kununurra Pilot program sees success for Agriculture Skill Set
An agriculture workforce is in high demand in the East Kimberley. Through the Agriculture Skill Set, North Regional (NR) TAFE have had eight students graduate this skill set and join the workforce this year.
Seeing this demand, NR TAFE Training Manager Rosemary Taffinder worked closely with Keith Pitt at 100+ Jobs to help students go from classrooms studying at TAFE and into the workforce.
Working together, they launched their pilot program in November 2020.
Recruiting 10 students to participate in the Agriculture Skill Set, the program aims to provide students with the best opportunities to learn and gain valuable skills that leave them job-ready.
"This program provides young people in the area the opportunity to gain employable and sustainable job skills," said Kevin Doig, Managing Director NR TAFE.
"The on the ground training is giving students first-hand experience, and that is vital in the agriculture industry," said Kevin
Run over seven weeks, the participating students were provided five weeks of education and two weeks of work experience, and of the 10 students who began the course, six students graduated.
The MG corporation's funding will fund three groups of 10 students to participate in this essential skill set.
This program is putting a focus on education while still providing on the ground training. NR TAFE is ensuring that students, no matter their literacy skills, can attend classes and graduate.
"It was great to see so many students graduate from the pilot program, and we are excited to see how the remaining two programs go," said Keith Pitt.
Alongside the support of MG Corporation and NR TAFE, the program received support from East Kimberley Job Pathways and Kimberley Group training. Together students received services throughout the program to ensure they attended class, taught the importance of timeliness, reliability and general life skills. MG corporation provided their land and industry tractor to ensure participants gained enough time on machinery.
“This program is life-changing for some of our students,” said Keith Pitt.
The second round of students began the program in February and are set to graduate in April. The third group of students will start in the second semester, after the mid-year break.