FACED with a declining number of young people choosing to pursue and remain in an agricultural career a group of locals in Hay have begun their own training program to fill the void.
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The resulting business, Hay Inc., is made up of former jackaroos who volunteer their time to offer the ‘Hay rural education program’, a three week course which gives participants the necessary hands-on training and experience for them to become a jackaroo or jillaroo.
Committee chairperson Chris Bowman said the program was developed because he and other concerned locals had noted the lack of opportunities for young people to gain the necessary training to make them employable.
“We’re trying to provide them with a skill set,” he said.
“With labour today they want people who are already trained and so that’s what we are trying to give these kids.”
Committee vice-chairperson Sandy Symons said the lack of jobs available to younger people had far reaching consequences for an agriculturally-dependent community like Hay.
“We want to bring people back into the community,” Mr Symons said.
“We will have a three month placement for them in the Hay district working as a jackaroo, and that means new kids in the town. It might be permanent or it might be temporary, or they might even leave and then come back, either way it’s good.”
The program has introduced the Hay region to students who have come from as far away as Tasmania and South Australia, and with the troubling trend of big companies buying out farms and causing families to leave this is a much-needed boost for the Hay community.
“The whole idea is to teach them the best practice, the safest practice and low-stress practice,” Mr Symons said.
“We’ve got some very good trainers, guys who have been in the industry a long time, and the placement will give them contacts and mentors in the industry. We’ve also got some great assessors from TOCAL college and NSW Department of Primary Industries.”
Assessor Natalie O’Leary was impressed with both the students and the program.
“They are an exceptional group,” she said. “It gives us a lot of faith in the industry to know that people like this will be coming through.”
The program is now in its second year and with students’ attendance already increasing from eight to fifteen, prospects look positive.
Run entirely by volunteers the program relies heavily on the generous funding of its key partner the Australian Wool Innovation.
Hay Inc. also received widespread community support for training venues, livestock and further funding from generous property owners like TA Field at ‘Wyvern’ and Hazeldean at ‘Rosevale’.