The cotton industry has been involved in the AgSkilled program for a number of years already as a partner to the original AgSkilled strategy. This original program came to an end in mid-2020, and has been extended and expanded until June 2024 as ‘AgSkilled 3.0’.
AgSkilled 3.0 is part of an $18 million, NSW Government-funded, industry-led workforce development strategy. It aims to ensure the state’s cotton, grains production, horticulture, viticulture, rice and livestock industries have a skilled workforce capable of meeting future challenges.
Similar to many other agricultural industries, the cotton industry faces challenges attracting and retaining staff. Cotton is a crop that responds positively to timely management, and severely penalises its grower through yield loss and potential quality downgrades when operations are not timely.
The 2019/20 cotton crop was the smallest crop in 40 years. Access to relevant, industry-specific training will be essential to upskill NSW’s next generation of cotton farm employees and to assist in the industry’s recovery from one of the worst droughts on record.
Many of the quality courses developed and delivered to the cotton industry through the original AgSkilled program will remain available through AgSkilled 3.0.
AgSkilled prides itself on delivering flexible and relevant training to meet the needs of industry. If you or your business need training but can’t find a course to suit, please Contact the AgSkilled Project Officer.
“The original AgSkilled program was a huge success and set a very high standard for the delivery of coordinated, high-quality training across agricultural sectors. I am excited about the opportunities this second investment will provide our farmers in New South Wales. Ensuring our growers are highly skilled and afforded training opportunities is a priority for our industry, and I’m confident that our growers will flock to AgSkilled 2.0 with the same enthusiasm and passion they showed during the original program.”
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Quick Industry Snapshot
There are up to 1,500 cotton farms in Austraia with approximately 66% of Australia’s cotton grown in NSW.
Approximately 90% of Australia’s cotton businesses are family farms.
Industry-wide, Australian cotton farms provide jobs for an estimated 12,480 people. This includes 6,600 full-time permanent staff, swelling to an estimated 12,480 to include part time, casual, temporary seasonal workers and contractors. This equates to approximately 4,356 full-time permanent staff swelling to 8,237 in NSW.
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