AgriFood Skills Australia is a highly visible participant in a broad range of national engagement and networking activities. These activities underpin research and work to enhance industry productivity and participation in the workforce.
AgriFood has achieved wide recognition from industry, the many stakeholder organisations and government as the primary national adviser on these priority issues.

Key agrifood stakeholder groups include the five broad industry groups, their producers and processors, national and state peak bodies, companies and corporate consortia, training providers and brokers, other industry skills councils and the three tiers of government.

The company has invested significant resources in capturing data and information to validate enterprise cases for critical training support from government to:

• Integrate capacity building and core skill development into agrifood’s broader workforce development activities  
• Promote the use of skills sets and unit clusters as an effective means of providing entry to and sustainable pathways within agrifood industry sectors
• Provide support for registered training organisations (RTOs) to implement effective strategies addressing their core skills in training and assessment practices 

AgriFood Skills Australia is a public company limited by guarantee under the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth). The Australian Government established the former Agri-Food Industry Skills Council in May 2004 and the name was changed in November 2008.

Company activities are resourced principally by the Australian Government through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to actively support the development, implementation and continuous improvement of quality skills and workforce products and services, including training packages.

AgriFood’s role has diversified considerably since 2004 to incorporate broad new directions in innovation and with an expanded membership and a skill-based Board of Directors.  In undertaking these roles the company draws on widespread industry networks and active stakeholder engagement to:

• Provide advice and support to the agrifood industry and enterprises on skills and workforce development and solutions
• Advise Skills Australia, the National Quality Council, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and other agencies
• Continuously improve and implement quality training products that deliver nationally recognised skills and qualifications

Company role

The Board and staff work in a collaborative arrangement with enterprises, employment service providers and governments to identify and justify the allocation of productivity and demand-driven training places for workers but also for job seekers.

The company provides industry intelligence and advice to government and enterprises to identify workforce development and skill needs. It seeks to deliver enhanced capability and innovation to the national agrifood industry and to influence national policy on skills formation and workforce development.

Principal activities

The Board’s overriding focus throughout 2008-09 was to develop and advance strategies and priorities that address critical skills and workforce shortages with the effect of enhancing productivity for the agrifood industry and its enterprises.

These priorities include:

• Advancing education and training
• Identifying generic and emerging skills to support the employability of individuals
• Providing for local community development, and
• Giving strategic advice to government on these issues.

Strategic direction

The company’s strategic direction is shaped by many factors and by an on-going process of engagement with industry. This engagement process includes the company‘s Board, with all directors drawn from industry and providing a skill-based capability.

The company invites input from industry advisory standing committees, the new tier of Company members and from the comprehensive company activities throughout the year.

Directors, the CEO and staff work closely with key stakeholders. One key development was the Regional Jobs Summit initiative, designed to identify job demand and worker availability for regional communities. This is a whole-of-community approach designed to examine issues of attraction and retention, the benefits of higher skill levels and the implications from adopting new technology and new ideas.

The company maintains strategic relations with the leadership of national organisations, including peak industry organisations, major industry enterprises, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Skills Australia, the National Quality Council, government, in particular the states and territories, and with key educational institutions.

The company produces an annual Environmental Scans that gives a vivid contemporary picture of the salient factors that are shaping the agrifood industry and are likely to impact on the skills and capabilities of the workforce over the next 12 months. Details of the stakeholder and consultation process to produce the Environmental Scan are described in this report.

The annual National AgriFood Conference seeks to identify trends and new thinking for the agrifood industry and for the broader tasks of skilling and workforce innovation. The conference brings industry representatives together and fosters an interactive and collegiate atmosphere. It allows company directors and staff to examine new trends or challenges facing various sectors and to draw together leading industry and academic innovators.
Skilling Australia for the future

The scope of company activities was extended in 2007-08 with the release of the Australian Government’s Skilling Australia for the future initiative and the advent of the Productivity Places Program (PPP), creating several hundred thousand new training places in vocational education and training across all industries over the next four years. This expanded AgriFood’s participation in industry productivity and workforce participation.

Supply chain model

To achieve its goals, the company adopted a ‘supply chain model’ of company activities and priorities. This model consists of organisations, governments, people, activities, information and resources needed to deliver enhanced skills and capability to the workforce and as a consequence to the sustained economic growth of the agrifood industry as a whole.

The supply chain model involves:

• Attraction and retention of workers to the agrifood industry – full-time, seasonal, casual and at all levels of the workforce
• Investment of time and resources by governments, enterprises and learners to build the skills and capability of the workforce
• Delivery of training and assessment services by both training providers and enterprises, and
• Utilisation of skills and workforce development to increase enterprise productivity and growth - AgriFood Skills Australia’s formal role requires intervention at critical points along the supply chain.