SARAH Ryan, 23, said being in the right place at the right time, with a passion for the sheep and wool industry, was how she ended up being offered one of the only wool traineeships in the country.
“I finished high school in 2011, and from there I went and worked on a sheep station in Hay, NSW, for a year, where I did sheep work and odd jobs,” Ms Ryan said.
“It was here my love for the wool industry was consolidated.”
Following this, Ms Ryan moved to northern NSW, to study a Bachelor of Agricultural Science and a Bachelor of Business at the University of New England.
“I studied a broad range of topics, and I did quite a few wool and sheep units, because by that stage, I was very interested in the sheep and wool industry,” she said.
“I met an Elders wool broker, who said my best option would be to do work experience in Melbourne, because that’s where the majority of wool is sold.”
Ms Ryan then completed a week’s work experience at the Elders Brooklyn office at the Melbourne wool stores, and said she applied for the traineeship not long after.
“The trainee before me was here while I was here, and he got the news that he’d been offered a job, so his position opened up,” she said.
“It was pretty much being in the right place at the right time.”
Ms Ryan has been in her current position since November last year, and said a key responsibility is liaising with buyers and growers.
“We have a wool auction once a week, so we’re involved in lotting the wool, and going through all the wool to give it a type and style grade before the auction,” she said.
“We communicate from buyers to growers what they’re after, and if there are any current market trends.”
She said she enjoys visiting properties to see where the wool comes from.
“It’s really interesting to visit the grower on farm, and then watch their wool come through the stores, and go through the auctions, and hopefully get a price that they’re happy with,” she said.
Ms Ryan, who grew up on a sheep farm in Baynton, said she never imagined herself working in the city.
“When I was applying for graduate positions, I figured that because I’d done an agricultural degree, I’d be working in a rural area, but it’s been great,” she said.
She said her passion for the industry came from her younger years working on her family’s farm.
“When we were little, we’d always be out on the motorbike with Dad, delivering lambs or feeding the sheep,” she said.
She said she hopes to stay at Elders once her traineeship ends, and to gain as much experience as possible.
“I’m really passionate about the industry, I know it’s where I want to be, what that role is, I’m not entirely sure yet,” she said.
“I would like to stay with Elders, and maybe become a district wool manager one day.”