One of Victoria’s leading grain carting and trading companies has set up it’s own cadetship and traineeship program, through Marcus Oldham College.
Riordan Grain Services managing director Jim Riordan told the Rabobank-Australian Centre for Career Education Food and Fibre conference two young people were already in the program.
A third would start, before Christmas.
“Old style cadetships, three year training programs, are hugely important,” Mr Riordan said.
The company began operating in 1996 at Winchelsea and now had four sites in Lara and a co-jointly owned site at Balliang East.
Mr Riordan said the biggest challenge was getting employees from a non-farm background to understand the variables facing agriculture.
“When it comes to harvest time, sometimes the farmer wants his grain picked up and he will start at midnight, on a Friday night and we need people who can understand that grain may end up on their doorstep on a Saturday morning,” Mr Riordan said.
He said another challenge was getting young people to understand agriculture.
“I have four young girls going through primary schools, they come home and say “Dad, some of the kids don’t even know where milk comes from and where meat comes from’,” Mr Riordan said.
“There is just a massive opportunity for agriculture, I think there are just so many different tasks and roles coming through.”