That ICPA (Aust) advocates to the Federal Agricultural Minister, Dept of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry and the Commonwealth Government to financially support the National Farmers Federation AgCareerStart program, which helps teachers and students who are considering careers in Food and Fibre production in Australia.
The AgCareerStart program offers school leavers a structured, paid gap year in agriculture, including accredited training and personal development opportunities. It enables young Australians to explore career paths in the food and fibre sector that match their interests and capabilities.
The program also benefits host farmers by giving them access to a new labour market and the opportunity to mentor the next generation of agricultural professionals. Bursaries are available for gap year students, and participating farmers receive grants to support their involvement.
A recent monitoring and evaluation review cited by Project Manager Tim Bradley found that AgCareerStart delivers a return of $5.56 for every $1 invested—demonstrating exceptional economic and social value.
For families educating children through distance education (DE), securing on-farm labour is a significant challenge. When parents are the DE supervisors and are required to assist with farm work, it limits the time they can dedicate to their child’s education. By providing additional farm labour, AgCareerStart can relieve this pressure and support better educational outcomes for geographically isolated students. ICPA (Aust) has been advocating for an allowance for home supervisors and maybe this could be a viable option to help support families.
With full government funding, the program has the potential to expand beyond agriculture to include placements in remote teaching, DE supervision, and rural tutoring—further strengthening the rural education workforce and community capacity.
