Dr Brian Heim has followed his earlier win as Australia’s top agriculture teacher in 2008 by taking the title of ‘Australian trade & skills teacher of the year’ - seen here with the Chairman of the Institute for Trade Skills Excellence, Dr John Keniry.   

He held off challenges from 14 finalists from eight industry categories under the Institute for Trade Skills Excellence (ITSE) Australian Training Awards, presented during a gala ceremony in Darwin on Thursday night.  

• Agri-Food College wins National Training Award
• Media release - Institute for Trade Skills Excellence
• ITSA summary of Dr Brian Heim
• GO HERE for the trades and skills awards
• Winners of the National Awards     

Mr Fraser sees the award as an important recognition for agriculture, considering the wide range of professions represented in the other categories.

“We know the vital and growing role skills-based education and training plays in modern farming’s ability to be competitive and sustainable,” he said.

“The farm sector is screaming out for not only more employees, but a higher skilled and more qualified workforce than at any time in our history.

“Our labour force analysis shows that as the farm sector emerges from drought, we’ll need around 100,000 new jobs filled – and of that number, nearly 80,000 will need to be skilled and qualified.
"So we need to be training more young people today, not down the track.

“We know by stimulating and encouraging teachers in the stellar work they do, it will rub off on their students... and the more we can attract into the ag sector, the better.

“Of course, such a plan has widespread benefits, not just for farming specifically.

"Attracting young people into relevant agricultural skills areas has a flow-on effect for the health and vitality of rural businesses and local communities.

"It’s important to continually foster that development.”

Dr Heim, who is the manager of Primary Industry at the Charles Darwin University (NT), won the Agriculture Trade and Skills Teacher of the Year in November, taking a prize of $5,000. He now takes home a further $5,000.

“Dr Heim is being recognised in leading a team of teaching professionals and providing hands-on involvement by skilling cattle producers in testing animals for pregnancy prior to live export,” Mr Fraser said.

“It’s an important function to safeguard the viability of the sector.”

This year is the second year the NFF is supporting the awards, in conjunction with the ITSE, to promote the importance of trades and skills-based learning.  

The awards presentation was made by Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, in the presence of the National Farmers’ Federation’s (NFF’s) Duncan Fraser, chair of the Rural Industry Reference Group of the ITSE.