Settle to chair ag training review

MEMBER for Buninyong Michaela Settle will head a newly announced review into the future of agriculture training in Victoria.

The appraisal is set to look closely at the delivery of training in the sector, as well as the key factors that will make sure courses delivered by TAFEs meet the needs of both students and employers in the future.

Ms Settle, who owned and operated a sheep farm in the Western District for more than a decade, said she’s excited to be able to give back to the Victorian agriculture sector, which produces over $14.9 billion worth of milk, fruit, vegetables, meat, fibre, eggs and grains per year.

“Running my family’s sheep farm near Ararat for ten years gave me some of the best years of my life,” she said.

“Over the next six months we will be conducting extensive consultation with farmers, industry, employers, students, TAFE and other training providers.”

“I look forward to providing recommendations to Ministers Gayle Tierney MP and Mary-Anne Thomas MP to ensure we have the training needed to grow the agricultural industry now and into the future.”

Review consultations will commence in August and will include conversations with agriculture sector employers, training providers and students.

This will happen via both face-to-face and digital meetings, which are hoped to help inform the future actions required to strengthen training and increase enrolments in agriculture courses.

The review will wrap up with a report that contains a series of key recommendations delivered to Minister Tierney in December this year.

If you’d like to make a contribution to the review, you can register your interest via bit.ly/3vFo7Xz.