The Rural Jobs and Skills Alliance (RJSA) and FarmReady Hub have partnered to launch a comprehensive online accreditation program for jobseekers looking to enter the Australian agriculture sector.
The Pre-Induction Micro-Credential program allows prospective agriculture employees to obtain a FarmReady Card that prepares them for work on farm and opens career pathways to all the employment opportunities across Queensland’s agriculture sector.
Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) CEO Dr Georgina Davis said COVID-19 had caused unprecedented labour market disruption and required new and innovative approaches for an ongoing workforce.
“Demand for casual labour is expected to peak around March next year, with up to 26,000 jobs going unfilled. While Queensland farmers have already reported $11 million of crop losses across a variety of commodities,” Dr Davis said.
“There is a significant amount of work being done to find solutions, including encouraging Australians to consider farm work, however the industry is diverse, and many job applicants are underprepared.”
“FarmReady Hub is designed to take the guesswork out of farm work by ensuring new employees arriving at the farm gate are correctly prepared for an agricultural job with an understanding of specific rural workplace health and safety and biosecurity requirements.”
“The program offers a skills passport for jobseekers to include their licence details, permits, letters of offer, and other qualifications thereby allowing farmers to satisfy the necessary employment administrative requirements.”
“FarmReady also benefits farmers by simplifying the business hiring process and streamlines the transfer of information from workers to farmers, employment agencies and contractors.”
“The FarmReady Hub accreditation program will play a role in ensuring that agriculture has a resourced, fit for purpose workforce that is responsive to technological advances and potential disruption for the future productivity of the sector.”
Find more information and register to undertake the FarmReady accreditation: www.farmreadyhub.com.
This Micro-Credentialing Pilots Program project is supported and funded by the Queensland Government.