The Environmental Scan 2009 Assuming the mantle was compiled after a rigorous national consultation process with interactive workshop sessions in all major cities. Assuming the mantle was released nationally in March 2009 and a national survey was held through the company website.

Many industry leaders and representatives provided the company with submissions capturing contemporary data from their own sectors and reflecting real-time industry perspectives. These documents reflected an optimistic view of the impact of the global economic downturn on the agrifood industry. Many industry voices echoed a view that the agrifood industry would withstand the downturn and that it was in a position to employ workers from other industries that were shedding jobs.  

Assuming the mantle highlights a mood of ‘cautious optimism’ and the industry was poised to assume the economic    mantle as Australia’s key exporter and source of job growth. “Its ability to absorb displaced workers is unparalleled, but only if we free up the training system to be truly responsive,” the Chair, Mr John Baker said.

It called for a series of urgent reforms to the vocational education and training structure, including an overhaul of funding models for regional areas and providing support for training delivered in incremental building blocks of skills as part of a whole-of-business approach to addressing enterprise skills and workforce needs:

• Attraction and retention of skilled and semi-skilled workers
• Adoption of higher skill levels across the workforce
• Adoption and diffusion of new research, practice and technology across the industry

Assuming the mantle identified key areas of policy reform for agrifood:

• Creation of a fiscal and policy environment that enables the delivery of incremental building blocks of skills in addition to full qualifications
• Reform of the funding model to enable targeted, flexible training in rural and remote
• Australia
• Re-conceiving of vocational education and training as a whole-of-business, solutions driven approach to workforce development. 

CEO Arthur Blewitt launches the 2009 Environmental Scan at the National Press Club. Click here for Transcript of speech   AgriFood Skills Australia conducts a national consultations SEE SCHEDULE with key industry, enterprise and government leaders. CLICK ON IMAGE FOR EZINE