According to the final industry skills forecast, Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation and Land Management IRC’s Skills Forecast and Proposed Schedule of Work 2019-2022, the top generic skills for Agriculture are:
- Learning agility/ information literacy/ intellectual autonomy and self-management (adaptability)
- Managerial/leadership
- Financial
- Technology
- Science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) skills.
Job vacancy demand data for this industry indicates that the top generic skill in demand by employers were communication, detail-orientated, organisational, planning and problem-solving skills. The top occupation in demand was Mixed Crop and Livestock Farm Workers.
The Agriculture and Horticulture industries experienced significant disruption in 2020 associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, drought, bushfires and trade issues on workforce development, according to the Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation and Land Management IRC’s 2021 Skills Forecast.
As such, the 2021 Skills Forecast outlined additional and emerging trends to those identified in the 2020 Skills Forecast. These included: the impacts of COVID-19; attracting and skilling new industry workers; the National Agricultural Workforce Strategy; creating jobs and environmental benefits; and export and trade relations. Separately, in late 2021 the Fair Work Commission ruled pieceworkers under the Horticulture Award must be guaranteed a minimum wage. The changes to the Horticulture Award came into effect from late April 2022.
Impacts of COVID-19
As a result of COVID-19, the business-as-usual approach was reviewed, and new considerations were introduced within the business model to accommodate social distancing, smaller crews, and better hygiene protocols.
Further, COVID-19 highlighted the importance of food security and the associated roles of Australia’s rural industries and supply chains. In a ‘normal’ year, more than 40% of farmers have reported labour shortages during peak times, such as harvest. The IRC’s 2021 Skills Forecast noted there were concerns that production costs could grow or, worse, limit harvest outputs.
Due to the closure of state, territory and international borders, the effectiveness of workforce assistance programs, such as the Australian Government’s Pacific Labour Scheme and the Seasonal Worker Programme were negatively impacted. Employers reported they were struggling to fill many available positions, and there was an urgent need to replace backpacker, seasonal and visa workforces in entry-level roles. However, the urgency to fill entry-level roles would need to be balanced with protecting Australian agriculture industries from the risks associated with the rapid deployment of new workers. Retaining and replacing workers with experience in mentoring and leadership also proved a challenge, particularly as COVID-19 accelerated the rate of people exiting industries, leaving fewer workers to help develop the next generation.
Attracting and skilling new industry workers
Strategies to draw entrants to agriculture-related industries rely on the industries’ attractiveness, the removal of barriers to labour mobility, and the availability of effective workforce training. Research conducted with young people found the appeal of the sector was low due to a misunderstanding of what careers in agriculture offer. Similar challenges are likely to be experienced with attracting displaced workers from other industries. To address these issues, initiatives have been implemented, such as Regional Australia Institute’s Regional Jobs Vacancy Map. Australian Pork Limited has recommended the reframing of Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) and public understandings of the breadth of industry roles.
As well as highlighting reskilling and upskilling options for improving the prospects of people already performing an industry role, the National Skills Commission (NSC) is promoting ‘skills transferability’, according to the IRC’s 2021 Skills Forecast. Skills transferability facilitates clearer pathways between roles in diverse industries that require similar capabilities. The Agriculture and Production Horticulture IRC notes that while skills transferability is an important goal, the role of vocational education and training is to help potential workers reach competency and be job ready. This requires the skills to do specific jobs on farms in a safe and effective manner. This, the IRC reports, cannot be achieved only through the training of generic, broad skills.
National Agricultural Workforce Strategy
The aim of the National Agriculture Workforce Strategy is to ensure farmers have access to fit-for-purpose workforce into the future. It includes 37 recommendations to modernise agriculture’s image, attract and keep workers, embrace innovation, build skills for modern agriculture and to treat workers ethically. The Australian Government released its Roadmap to attract, retain, upskill and modernise the agriculture workforce at the same time as the Strategy and later released its Response to the National Agriculture Workforce Strategy.
Creating jobs and environmental benefits
The $500 million Land Restoration Fund aimed to expand carbon farming in Queensland by supporting land-sector projects that deliver environmental, social and economic benefits, according to the IRC’s 2021 Skills Forecast. Funded by the Queensland Government, the first round of projects was expected to create 690 jobs for occupations such as graziers, Indigenous Rangers and fire managers.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development developed Climate-ready Agriculture in Western Australia, information and technical support for farm business managers and industry managers for making incremental, transitional and transformative changes across broadacre cropping, broadacre livestock production, horticulture, pastoral industry and for soil and water resources.
Creating jobs and environmental benefits
The $500 million Land Restoration Fund aims to expand carbon farming in Queensland by supporting land-sector projects that deliver environmental, social and economic benefits, according to the IRC’s 2021 Skills Forecast. Funded by the Queensland Government, the first round of projects are expected to create 690 jobs for occupations such as graziers, Indigenous Rangers and fire managers.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has developed Climate-ready Agriculture in Western Australia, information and technical support for farm business managers and industry managers for making incremental, transitional and transformative changes. A general guide is available for each enterprise broadacre cropping, broadacre livestock production, horticulture, pastoral industry and for soil and water resources.
Export and trade relations
Australian agricultural exports have faced several challenges over recent years including drought, bushfires, COVID-19 and disruptions to regular trade flows for some commodities into the Chinese market. However, many businesses sought alternative markets for their projects and reported increased market activity. This diversification has enabled some sectors’ relative recovery and reduced the risk of over-relying on any one market.
