A new journey has begun for six eager agribusiness graduates in the bustle of Melbourne, but that will change as they experience a wide range of landscapes over the next 18 months as part of this year's ANZ graduate program.
The program is aimed to broaden the graduates' understanding of the broader Australian agribusiness sector, which is "extremely exciting" for new graduate Jack Pearce, who travelled from the lower Wheatbelt town of Dumbleyung, WA.
"There are only 100 people or so in Dumbleyung, so it is pretty remote," he said.
"When I was there, I just loved all things [agriculture] from looking at the books to sitting on a tractor for 12 hours a day as well as watching mum and dad have their whole experience on the farm.
Mr Pearce hoped the program would help him understand business while still working outdoors.
"I recently went worked on a couple of cattle stations in the north of the country and saw a different lifestyle there, seeing mustering happen as opposed to being on the back of the motorbike to round up sheep," he said.
Mr Pearce said he was "super excited" about his first placement in Geraldton, WA, where he'll work with the local crayfish industry.
Former agribusiness graduate Ali Muller, Shepparton, said analytical thinking combined with her love of sheep and the wool industry "tied skill sets together".
"The graduate program really broadened my horizons onto a lot of different industries and really fostered that curiosity and fascination to build that communication with different business owners," she said.
Ms Muller, a fifth-generation farmer, decided to complete her bachelor's degree in commerce and agriculture science before participating in the program, where she worked in Leongatha and South Australia.
"I think you can talk to a lot of people but to be able to have exposure to different industries really set the foundation for my career now as an assistant manager," she said.
"That's a lot of the discussions that I'm having at the moment with young generation seeing the potential and maybe going away from the farm but coming back and getting excited to to grow into the future. It may have something to do with the last four years being great seasons around Victoria, too."
ANZ Agribusiness Graduate Program manager Stephen Radeski said while it was great to see expansion, it was also essential to understand its volatility.
"We've got incredibly inflated asset values. partnered with a very profitable sector over the last few years, despite the fact that there's a volatility component," he said.
"Part of the program is exposing our grads to that volatility and managing that. Our view is that agriculture, despite that volatility, will emerge much stronger as the next generation comes in.
"Technology is going to play an increasingly big part in that too."
Mr Radeski said new industries were constantly emerging in Australian agribusiness, and graduates could provide a succession strategy for banking and the wider farming sector.
"Those in the program have a passion not only for agriculture, but understand the challenges and have a real desire to support regional communities, while ultimately seeing a career in banking through that path."
The new graduates and the expansion come as the Financial Sector Union said ANZ will be making changes across its Small to Medium Enterprise Banking, Commercial Broker and Diversified and Specialist Industries within the Australia Commercial Division.
It's thought 170 jobs at ANZ will be slashed due to the changes.
"We remain committed to investing in data and digital capabilities, complemented by relationship bankers, and will expand in growth areas such as agribusiness," an ANZ spokesperson said.
