Interview with NextGen YEE ZHAO Australian Growing Solutions

Where do you work and what is your role?

I am a Quality Assurance Lab Assistant with Australian Growing Solutions at our Tyabb site. As part of the QA team, I help monitor the condition of our raw materials from start to finish and ensure that the final product we send out to nurseries are problem free

How long have you worked there and how has your role progressed in that time?

I will have been at AGS for exactly one year now. I started off here through an internship that was offered to me through the University of Melbourne which lasted two months, and afterwards I was allowed to stay on as a Laboratory Assistant, learning about not just QA processes but the entire nursery and horticulture sector as a whole.

What/or who inspired you to choose agriculture/horticulture?

Credit goes to my mum for sure. She’s always promoted an active lifestyle spent outside, and from a young age I’ve always been out in the garden helping her with veggies in the backyard or learning about her various gardening related hobbies. The closer I got to year 12, the more I knew that in the future I wanted to be in an industry that was rewarding to work in, as well as filled with good people, hence why I’m very happy to be here now

What do you enjoy most about working in agriculture/horticulture?

You’ll hear this a lot through the Ag/Hort sector, but the best aspect of working in the industry is the people. The passion around you is unmatched, with so many willing to share their knowledge gained from the industry. And no matter how badly everything wrong around you at work is going, the people you work with will always find a way to lift your spirits.

What is the best piece of career advice you’ve received on your journey?

Tackle every problem head on, embrace every opportunity presented, soon you’ll realise most things in life are within arm’s reach.

Why should more young people choose horticulture as a career?

It’s very rewarding work. In the next decade there’s going to be much more growth, innovation change and advancement that is going to happen, so now is a perfect time for young people to join the industry and help manage/implement that change. You also meet so many passionate, kind and driven people who are so willing to help you along in your career. There’s also great work–life balance.

What is a typical day like for you?

A typical day for me consists of running a lot of tests and sorting through a bunch of data. As loads leave the site throughout the day, I do matrix checks and chemical analyses to ensure that nurseries and growers get what they purchased. For the rest of the day, I’m running around the site collecting samples of different materials that make up our potting mixes, testing them against industry standards, inputting that data, and assisting the QA teams very own Felicity and Andrew with whatever they need. Sometimes if a nursery has had issues with their plants, samples will be bought in to the lab and we will do whatever is necessary to determine what the problem is, as well as give advice on how to solve it.

Are you studying an agricultural/horticultural course?

I am currently finishing up my bachelor’s degree in agriculture at the University of Melbourne, majoring in Plant and Soil Science, where I am also the Education Officer for the Agriculture and Food Sciences Society. I also obtained my Certificate III in Agriculture late last year.

Tell us a bit about you; what you enjoy doing outside of work?

Outside of work I think I’d describe myself as a sporty, adventurous person. I love snorkelling and spearfishing in the summer, snowboarding in the winter, and hiking/camping all year round. Most days when work finishes, you’ll find me in the gym, studying the content for my course, or going out for a drink and a boogie with mates. I also volunteer with my local fire brigade, so if you’re lucky you’ll catch me around town helping cats out of trees.