AgForce surveys have unearthed a 'huge demand' for agricultural training in northern Australia that it says makes the Longreach Pastoral College a viable option still.
Although the Queensland government has decided not to fund the business case put to it by the Remote Area Planning and Development Corporation to redevelop the former college, and has invited the Longreach Regional Council to acquire it, AgForce personnel say they are not giving up on seeing a viable agricultural training future occur at the complex.
AgForce general president Georgie Somerset said they were continuing to try and find a solution that retained training in the region that was appropriate for the pastoral industry.
"We are still seeking representation with the government department that will find a solution to this," she said. "We've come through the drought and we don't have a pathway for people to enter the industry."
According to AgForce sheep and wool president Mike Pratt, corporate employers take on 160 new employees a year.
"They desperately want them trained up in workplace, health and safety, basic livestock management, basic horsemanship skills," he said. "It costs them a lot of money, time and effort in doing that training themselves."
He said one company flew trainers from property to property, while another ran a bus from Julia Creek to Katherine, picking up new employees, to train them in one centre.
"They don't want to do that, they want someone else to do that."
Demand is also coming from Aboriginal groups to have a training facility for young indigenous people.
Mr Pratt said he had been speaking with Mithaka representative Josh Gorringe, who needed training for youth for stock camps as well as their ranger programs.
Both Mr Pratt and Ms Somerset said TAFE, the government's preferred training choice, wasn't fit for purpose in this instance.
"TAFE doesn't have a footprint in the right communities," Ms Somerset said.
"Also, agriculture isn't a system that's the same every time.
"The environment on a property isn't predictable; it can't learnt from a book.
"You have to learn to problem solve from someone who works with you."
Mr Pratt said TAFEs were good at teaching specific courses like workplace health and safety, quad bike riding and first aid, but not at delivering the broad spectrum that was needed.
"To my mind, the government has invested a huge amount of money into cluster fencing - $26m or something, and private investment another $150m on top of that.
"They've just released the sheep and goat meat strategy to develop those industries, and all of it's going to be held back because we can't get employees.
"There's one bloke in town here that's a contract musterer - we work around him, he doesn't work around us."
Mr Pratt said the worst case scenario would be for the government to sell the college assets, resulting in a break-up of the property and various facilities.
"We can't afford to let the college slip through our fingers, because there's a facility there that's fit for purpose, ready to go," he said.
"The other colleges throughout Australia and also universities all over, they've got waiting lists of people wanting to get into agriculture.
"It's such an exciting time for the industry - all the commodities are red hot.
"People are wanting to get out of the cities, we're at a turning point now in agriculture.
"Everything's right - the interest rates, the dollar's low, people can see a future in agriculture but they need the training.
"We need to get a lot of support right across the whole spectrum, from RAPAD, from local government, from the community, AgForce, the Mithaka people, other indigenous corporations, and put a package together to present to government."
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