Agriculture is a pillar of Tasmania’s economy and today’s launch of the new Tasmanian Agricultural Education Framework; Grow, Make, Protect will give students a clear education pathway that develops a deep understanding of primary industries and the science behind food and fibre production.
The Framework brings together a wide spectrum of school-based Agricultural Education programs and will provide students from Kindergarten to Year 12 with the knowledge and skills on which to base their future choices – whether that is further studies or a career in the agriculture sector, or lifestyle decisions supporting Tasmania’s primary industries and jobs in regional areas.
The process is already underway for two new agricultural courses – Agricultural Enterprise Level 2 and Agricultural Systems level 3 to be piloted in years 11 and 12 in 2017.
It is exciting that we already have a number of schools interested in piloting the courses, including St Mary’s District High, Campbell Town District High, Scottsdale High School, Ulverstone High School and also Sorell School, where we are launching the Framework today.
The recently announced Tasmanian Agri-Food Plan highlights career pathways, including skills ad workforce development, as a key driver for achieving our vision to grow the value of agriculture to $10 billion by 2050, and also growth in our seafood sector.
The new Agricultural Education Framework is one part of the broader Primary School to Primary Industries initiative, supporting curriculum, higher education and program delivery to promote careers in primary industries.
The Framework is in addition to the Tasmanian Government’s establishment of the Hagley Farm School Centre for Agricultural Education in 2015, the Lead Teacher of Agricultural Education based at the centre, and the establishment of the Tasmanian Agricultural Education Network.
It also builds on our $450,000 investment into the Agricultural Skills Plan in partnership with the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association and the work of the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural to promote higher education opportunities in agriculture.
This work is a collaboration between the Departments of Education and Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, and the Hagley Farm School: Centre for Agricultural Education, with Tasmanian agribusiness through the Tasmanian Agricultural Productivity Group and the TFGA.
More Media Releases from Jeremy Rockliff
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