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Submission to Hon Steven Joyce:
Expert review of Australia's vocational education and training system
25 January 2019
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NFF Member Organisations
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The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) is the voice of Australian farmers.
The NFF was established in 1979 as the national peak body representing farmers
and more broadly, agriculture across Australia. The NFF’s membership comprises
all of Australia’s major agricultural commodities across the breadth and the length
of the supply chain.
Operating under a federated structure, individual farmers join their respective state
farm organisation and/or national commodity council. These organisations form the
NFF.
The NFF represents Australian agriculture on national and foreign policy issues
including workplace relations, trade and natural resource management. Our
members complement this work through the delivery of direct 'grass roots' member
services as well as state-based policy and commodity-specific interests.
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Statistics on Australian Agriculture
Australian agriculture makes an important contribution to Australia’s social,
economic and environmental fabric.
Social
There are approximately 88,073 farm businesses in Australia, over 99 per cent of
which are Australian family owned and operated.
Each Australian farmer produces enough food to feed 600 people, 150 at home and
450 overseas. Australian farms produce around 93 per cent of the total volume of
food consumed in Australia.
Economic
The gross value of Australian agriculture (excluding fisheries) in 2016 - 17 was
$61.7 billion, with around 80 percent driven by exports.
Together with vital value-adding processes for food and fibre after it leaves the farm,
along with the value of farm input activities, agriculture’s contribution to GDP
averages out at around 12 per cent (over $155 billion).
Workplace
The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector employs approximately 323,000
employees. Across the supply chain, agriculture powers around 1.6 million jobs.
Seasonal conditions affect the sector’s capacity to employ. Permanent employment
is the main form of employment in the sector, but more than 26 per cent of the
employed workforce is casual.
In the vegetable and horticulture industries, most farm employees are seasonal
workers and most of these employees are working in Australia on a visa. In contrast,
the cotton industry has more full-time employees, and those workers classified as
seasonal are generally Australian or New Zealand residents.
Environmental
Australian farmers are environmental stewards, owning, managing and caring for
51 per cent of Australia’s land mass. Farmers are at the frontline of delivering
environmental outcomes on behalf of the Australian community, with 7.4 million
hectares of agricultural land set aside by Australian farmers purely for conservation
and protection purposes.
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Contents
Statistics on Australian Agriculture ................................................................. 4
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 6
The Agricultural Workforce ............................................................................ 7
The Farm Workforce — Skills & Training...................................................... 8
1. Farms value practical experience, with some short course learning ............. 8
2. Farms requires multi-skilled workers ......................................................... 10
3. Existing funding models result in inconsistencies across jurisdictions ...... 11
4. Trainee farmworkers face unique challenges ............................................. 12
5. Mid-career workers are not well served by the current VET model ........... 12
6. The VET Sector is a valued part of the Australian skills landscape ........... 13
7. This review should be mindful of the numerous prior reviews .................. 14
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Introduction
The National Farmers’ Federation’s (NFF’s) vision for Australian agriculture is to
become a $100 billion industry by 2030. The Agricultural sector is already a
source of strength in the Australian economy, positioned to capitalise on growing
global demand for safe, high quality food and fibre over the coming decades.
Nonetheless, to achieve our vision, the sector needs public policy settings that
foster growth, productivity, innovation, and ambition. Realistic and pragmatic
measures to grow the agricultural labour force and enable access to capable and
workers will be a central component of these policy settings. A reliable workforce
is critical to the continuity and growth of Australian farms, and labour shortages
jeopardise the future of some farms and prevent the expansion of others. In either
case, there are substantial costs to the Australian agriculture sector and the
Australian economy more broadly. While a general shortage of workers will limit
the productivity of Australian farms, a lack of skilled workers will stifle the
industry’s ability to innovate and adapt to change. Both have implications for the
future of Australian agriculture.
In short, the NFF 2030 vision requires continued growth of the sector, and without
access to labour this growth may not occur.
The NFF welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the Hon. Steven Joyce in
respect of his expert review of Australia's vocational education and training
system.
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The Agricultural Workforce
The Australian agriculture industry’s future depends on attracting, training and
retaining the next generation of farmers and farm workers. However, the needs of
the farming sector may be different to those of other industries. Indeed, some of
the defining features of farms pose challenges which make their workforces and
labour needs unique.
Some of those challenges include:
• A relatively high level of seasonal, casual and contract labour (including
harvest labour);
• A wide geographical spread, with much of the work occurring in remote and
rural areas;
• Frequent requirements for employees to work extended and/or unsociable
hours;
• Narrow margins and a “price taking” reality, where the value of the farm
produce is effectively determined by a “duopoly” of supermarkets;
• An ageing labour force; the median age of a farm worker’s age is 49
compared to the national average of 40;
• Lower level of literacy and numeracy across a number of occupation groups
and industry subsectors;
• A range of ownership structures, including owner operators, family business
models, sovereign wealth funds and multinationals; and
• A high concentration of small and medium sized enterprises.
These factors were recognised by the Agriculture Competitiveness White Paper,
where it is said that:
To meet projected demand and exploit market opportunities, the agriculture sector
needs both skilled farmers and a skilled and available workforce. However,
agriculture has struggled to attract and retain the skilled labour it needs to
prosper. This was particularly so when the mining industry was booming. Other
factors contributing to this have been declining rural populations as people have
moved to larger towns and cities, outdated perceptions of agricultural career
paths, and relatively low rates of participation in agriculture-related education.1
While the industry invests heavily in programs to recruit, train and retain skilled
workers within Australia,2 in combination these factors mean that finding and
retaining a reliable work force is a significant challenge and contributes to serious
1 Commonwealth of Australia, 2015, Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper.
2 See National Farmers Federation, December 2018, A Greener Future.
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labour shortages for the sector. Precise figures remain elusive, but the size and
significance of the shortage is well documented. Studies indicate that more than
60% of growers in the fruit and veg sector experience difficulty recruiting and, as
a consequence, have left produce unpicked.3 While the dairy sector reports that
labour challenges cost it up to $364 million each year4. Indeed, case studies
suggest aggregate losses of individual farm businesses can range into the hundreds
of thousands — occasionally even millions — of dollars. The costs escalate when
the impact on future productivity of farms, the broader supply chain, and the flow-
on effect to agricultural communities is taken into account.
The Farm Workforce — Skills & Training
1. Farms value practical experience, with some short course learning
Statistics indicate that the majority of people employed in the agriculture, forestry
and fishing industries have relatively low levels of educational attainment: 64% of
the workforce having achieved a qualification no higher than year 12 or
equivalent, compared with 42% across all industries. Less than 10% of farm
managers are degree qualified, compared to more than a quarter of Australian
managers overall.
Most workers in the agricultural sector acquire their skills through practice and on-
site learning, with the addition of some targeted short courses of study. For
example, while in 2011 more than a third of the top 20 employing occupations in
3 Howe et al & University of Adelaide (issuing body), Labour Challenges in the Australian Horticulture Industry, 2018
4 National Rural Advisory Council, Report on the workforce planning capabilities of agricultural employers, May 2013
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agriculture were high-skilled occupations5, for the vast majority6 most of the
workers had no formal post-school qualifications. This is consistent with ABS
2016 census data, which indicates that just 5% of all students in course at the
Certificate III or higher7 were studying agriculture, environmental or related fields.
The low share of workers with higher levels of educational attainment may be
reflective of the long history of unofficial extension activities which farmers rely
on to share information and improve farm management and practices; from
informal conversations to community and field days. It may also be a product of
the remote location of workers and subsequent lack of access to formal education
and training opportunities, and the traditional family business structures found in
the industry. The prevalence of ‘word of mouth’ work opportunities and on-the-
job training are also likely to have contributed. Another obstacle is the difficulty in
getting enough people for a particular course at one time to enable RTO to cover
its costs.
Indeed, the statistics reflect the fact that within many sectors of the agricultural
industry, learning is typically incremental, socially embedded, and occurs over a
lifetime. Job pathways can be horizontal or tangential, and involve a ‘building
block’ approach to gaining a portfolio of skills which are fundamental to securing
and maintaining employment in rural Australia.
That said, this may also reflect (to greater or lesser degree) a lack of policy
attention on the training needs of agriculture. For example, the largest cohorts of
rural industry workers perform work at or around the Certificate II or III level. It
follows that these are the areas with the greatest training and skills needs.
Unfortunately, according to data available at www.training.gov.au a mere 5% of
accredited RTOs have lower level Certificate II and III Agriculture, Horticulture
and Conservation and Land Management qualifications on their delivery scope. 8
Furthermore, Commonwealth policy settings have placed a heavier emphasis on
higher level qualifications and VET fee loans to support and underpin them, while
neglecting traineeships and apprenticeships.
The consequence (at least in part) is that the sector must draw on a larger labour
market than Australia offers — that is, on migrant labour — particularly when it
comes to skilled roles. For example, in the pork industry, a recent survey by
Australian Pork Limited found that 69% of respondents reported staff vacancies at
1 July 2017, and 95% of respondents with overseas workers reported all or most
have formal qualification equivalent to Certificate III Agriculture (Pig Production)
5 That is, ANZSCO Skill Levels 1 to 3, requiring at least a Certificate III plus two years on the job training. The occupations were livestock farmers; crop farmers; mixed crop and livestock farmers; agricultural and forestry scientists; shearers; animal attendants and trainers; and agricultural technicians:
6 Five.
7 i.e. cert III, cert IV, diploma, degree, or post-graduate qualifications.
8 Around 227 out of approximately 5,000.
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or higher. All respondents said that they thought that the subclass 457 visa
program9 had been successful in helping to address on-farm skills and labour
shortages.
In addition, this focus on higher level qualifications is out of step with the
perceptions of many individual rural industry employers and the sector’s wider
scepticism of the need and value of higher-level qualifications. Indeed, there has
been a recent decline in the commencement of traineeships and apprenticeships
which combine structured learning, both on and off the job, with paid employment
and the practical application of skills and knowledge. Approximately four out of
five VET students are completing qualifications without adequate industry
placement or exposure to hone and develop their skills and capacities. This trend
will further accentuate the level of disconnect between many VET outcomes and
the needs of agricultural industries and employers. As noted above, farmers are
hands-on, ‘pragmatic’ people with much farm ‘training’ occurring on the farm
through informal structures. The Ag VET system should be designed in a way
which identifies and addresses the disconnect been this aspect of farm cultural and
Ag VET practice.
In the NFF’s submission, most VET qualifications, and particularly those in the
agricultural sector, should not to be granted to participants who have not worked
within the relevant industries and are routinely demonstrating, on the job, the
required and specified competencies. The sector should stipulate an increased
requirement for industry work experience placements or paid employment as
necessary course components.
2. Farms requires multi-skilled workers
A variety of competencies are required of skilled (and unskilled) farm workers.
For example, a Skills and Labour Needs Review10 survey, conducted by AgForce
Queensland, identifies the diverse set of skills that are required of a worker in
broadacre cropping enterprises. Categorised broadly, the eleven skillsets which
farms required of their employees and contractors in order to run an efficient
business were:
• tractor & heavy machinery operation;
• animal safety and animal husbandry;
• welding, chainsaw, and workshop machinery operation;
• mechanical servicing and repairs;
• rural safety and OHS qualifications;
• horse and bike riding ability;
9 Subsequently replaced by the ‘temporary skills shortage’ visa programs.
10 AgForce Queensland, Skill and Labour Needs Review Analysis 2012 at pg 19.
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• chemical/nutrition application;
• fencing;
• electronic recording (GPS, NLIS) and computer skills;
• integrated pest management; and
• conservation farming methods, clean energy and carbon farming.
The report concluded that:
The high percentages of skills required by permanent employees in particular and
in part time and casual employees and contractors in general, highlights the
complex nature of modern broadacre agriculture and emphasises the need for a
high standard of training in the basic skills listed above.
The needs for a broad/diverse skillset is not unique to broadacre cropping. For
example, the dairy labour agreement contains a lengthy list of duties for the senior
dairy worker which include (but are not limited to):
• coordinating and implementing reproductive programs,
• planning and managing pastures and crops,
• supervising animal health programs,
• supervising staff,
• operating milking plant and equipment,
• performing irrigation works,
• transporting, handling, preparing and applying chemicals;
• maintaining sheds, fences, fixtures and fittings;
• ensuring food safety regulatory requirements are met; and
• operating computer equipment
The key point is this: the labour need of the farming sector are diverse and
challenging and traditional forms of training and education do not always succeed
in creating the labour force which the sector requires.
3. Existing funding models result in inconsistencies across jurisdictions
The degree of government funding support for agricultural traineeships and
apprenticeships continues to vary significantly between Australian jurisdictions.
For example, the maximum fee for a trainee who is eligible for the subsidy to
study for an Cert II in Agriculture NSW TAFE in the Armidale campus is $1,340,
while the fees payable for studying the same course at WA’s North Regional
TAFE is $2,550, almost twice the cost. In addition, trainees, apprentices and
students are required to make varying levels of fee contributions.
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These disparities result in inconsistent, inadequate or inappropriate funding
models and, consequentially, in:
(1) Significant variations in the quality of training outcomes; and
(2) Limited availability of many VET pathways and qualifications across
jurisdictions.
The National Agribusiness Education Skills and Labour Taskforce noted in June
2014 that:
A recent review of current funding levels across jurisdictions for indicative
Agricultural and Horticultural qualifications at the Certificate II, II, and IV level
through traineeship and apprenticeship pathways. It found a myriad of different
approaches and priorities — and in many cases questionable bureaucratic
determinations — in respect of the level of funding required to deliver training at
particular AQF levels. It also found considerable variation in the number and scope
of qualifications that attract State/Territory government support.
Historically the agriculture sector has had limited involvement in formal structured
education and training. Over many years it has been the “poor relation” with
respect to the level of training delivery expenditure both nationally and across the
states. The government incentive-support for employer and trainees/apprentices is
marginal in comparison to many other industries.
Furthermore, over the last twenty odd years the compliance costs for registered
training organisations have increased almost four-fold, diverting funding to
compliance activities and dramatically reducing the amount to funding applied to
support training delivery and assessment. Nevertheless, the heightened level of
regulation of the VET sector since the establishment of ASQA has not resulted in
any better alignment of VET outcome to industry or employer requirements.
4. Trainee farmworkers face unique challenges
In addition to the traditional problems involving Australian Apprenticeships
traineeships and apprenticeships in agriculture and related industries (particularly
in rural, regional and remote areas) routinely face unique challenges which result
in retention difficulties and poor completion rates. These challenges include:
limited or prescriptive training-provider choice; geographic isolation; limited peer
and service provider support; and inadequate or highly competitive labour
markets. In addition, many rural traineeship participants have to relocate to
remote areas, depriving them of their usual familial and peer support networks,
and are often called upon to travel long distances to complete their requisite off-
the-job training.
5. Mid-career workers are not well served by the current VET model
During the five year period 2013 to 2017, there was a significant fall in
participation rate in Australian Apprenticeships:
• The 19 years and under cohort by 9.7%;
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• The 20 - 24 years cohort by 23.1 %;
• The 25 - 44 years cohort by 49.4%; and
• The 45 years and over cohort by 67.7%.
Although there are undoubtedly additional explanations, the progressively
dramatic fall off – particular from the 20 - 24 to the 25 - 44 years cohort — in
participation rates as the age of the cohort increases would strongly indicates a
lack of engagement with the older/midcareer workers.
This could be explained in large part by the rigid VET qualifications structures,
and a lack of incentive to encourage employers to up-skill their existing
workforce. The problem has been exacerbated by changes to Commonwealth
employer incentives over time; significantly, with the removal of universal access
to Certificate II employer incentives and existing worker Australian
Apprenticeship pathways. This has dampened employers’ appetite to “upskill”
their existing workforce. All have contributed to the creation of rigid and systemic
impediments that discourage or preclude the participation of many mid-career
workers and others looking to take-up employment opportunities in different, new
and/or emerging careers paths.
Unfortunately, the removal and phasing out by the Commonwealth of existing
worker Australian Apprenticeships pathways has further diminished the VET
system’s capacity to meet the needs of mid-career workers looking for upskilling
and retraining options, as well as impeding the ability of the system to meet the
needs of industries seeking the rapid deployment of new skills.
In addition, it should be noted that in many jurisdictions access to funding support
for Certificate II qualifications is restricted to persons between the ages of 16 - 24
years.11 Unfortunately, with less than 10% of the rural industry workforce being
drawn from that age group, it means most rural industry workers (who are aged 25
and over) are denied access to funding support, to undertake structured training to
acquire many of the practical hands-on skills required across many sectors.
6. The VET sector is a valued part of the Australian skills landscape
Our concerns notwithstanding, with over 4 million Australians enrolled and
undertaking VET qualifications it cannot be said that the VET sector lacks wider
community confidence or is considered ineffective by many of its users. The
National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) student satisfaction
survey results routinely indicate high level of satisfactions with the courses
completed even though many may not necessarily give rise to an employment
outcome or enhanced an individual’s employment and/or career progression
prospects.
11 Unless they are Indigenous, Torres Strait Islander or disabled
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NFF member organisations are active participants at all levels of the ongoing
review and development of the national competency standards framework through
two Industry Reference Committees supported by Skills Impact. We are believe
that the processes they follow ensure national qualification reflect real work
activities, current skills standards and practice. These standards then underpin a
delivery system that, when operating effectively, can help provide a skilled and
flexible workforce for the future.
Nevertheless, there would undoubtedly be plenty of opportunities to strengthen
industry links with RTOs within the VET sector; and to also improve significantly
the quality and volume of information linking training options to employment
outcomes, as well as improve the accuracy and usefulness of information on VET
options particularly for employers and students who often struggle to find their
way through the complex information maze.
7. This review should be mindful of the numerous prior reviews
There have been several Reviews over the years that have examined skills,
knowledge and educational requirements in rural and related industries that have
involved varying degrees of industry and peak body/group input.
These include:
• National Agriculture Workforce Plan 2014 - NFF National Agribusiness
Education, Skills and Labour Taskforce;
• Food and Beverage Workforce Study 2013 Australian Workplace
Productivity Authority;
• 2012 Inquiry into Agricultural education and Training in Victoria -
Education and Training Committee Parliament of Victoria;
• 2013 Review into Agricultural Education and Training in New South Wales;
• 2012 Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References
Committee – Higher education and skills training to support agriculture and
agribusiness in Australia;
• 2012 Rebuild the Agricultural Workforce Report Allen Consulting Group;
and
• Skills for Prosperity – A roadmap for vocational education and training
Skills Australia 2011.