Vol. 18 18 No. No. 46 27 Vol.
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Wednesday, January Wednesday, May 13, 25, 2016 2016
FUN: Bendigo’s Lightning Reef Primary School students Than Than and Mu Ku Paw enjoy activities at Nhill during a cultural celebration day. About 50 people, including Karen students and their families, travelled from Bendigo to participate in a range of activities – including language classes, quilt making, soccer and art – at Nhill Lutheran Primary School. A highlight of the day was the launch of eight Karen-English books written and illustrated by Nhill students. Participants enjoyed a traditional Karen rice dish for lunch and were also treated to a Karen dance performance. Picture: MELISSA POWELL
Confidence boost T
BY SARAH SCULLY
he manager of a leading employment and training provider believes strong interest in a new agricultural traineeship program has not only boosted confidence in the sector, but will also produce the region’s next generation of agricultural leaders. Skillinvest has received $574,500 from the State Government to implement 20 new full-time agricultural traineeships for school leavers in north-west Victoria. Since applications opened on April 1, 16 traineeships have been filled. Skillinvest general manager Robin
Kuhne is confident the remaining four will be filled within the next week. “We’ve had great support from the community since announcing the traineeships,” he said. “Three years ago we had in excess of 25 agriculture trainees employed. Up until last year, we had three. “This is a direct result of drought conditions – the first thing a business does in tough times is review its financial situation, which flows through to staffing.” Mr Kuhne said youth retention was a major strategy underpinning the program. He said without access to training and employment, young people would
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move away from the region to seek opportunities. “It is vitally important to build the skills of our youth,” he said. “All 20 trainees will move through the program at the same pace, so they will form strong bonds and create a network of the next generation of leaders.”
such as an injection of confidence in agricultural circles. “We did not consider the role a strong agricultural sector plays in a vibrant community,” he said. “There certainly seems to be an amount of confidence in the sector, with the way the paddocks are starting to turn green on the back of the recent sowing season. “Hopefully it translates into positive recovery for the agricultural sector in the near future. “Our plan is to have skilled workers ready to respond to industry demands – we want to ensure we have people with the skills and experience to meet the workload.”
• Kernaghan back in town • AgLife feature • Football-netball previews
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Partnership
Skillinvest will deliver the 18-month training program in conjunction with Longerenong College, with trainees working towards a Certificate III in Agriculture qualification. “Longerenong College not only delivers Certificate III level training, it
also makes a clear connection from what is happening in the classroom to what happens in the paddock thanks to its extensive agricultural experience,” Mr Kuhne said. He said the program was a win-win for youth interested in agricultural careers and farmers who needed help. “The State Government funding allows Skillinvest to pay the trainees’ wages for the first 12 months, at no cost to the farmer,” he said. “There is a co-contribution from months 13 to 18, where farmers will cover 50 percent of their trainee’s wage.” Mr Kuhne said the program had already delivered several byproducts,
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