Industry speaks: The future of our labour market

In the lead up to the 2022 Federal Election, Greenlife Industry Australia (GIA) is asking industry leaders to share their hopes for the future of the horticulture industry. In this piece, we hear from Navtej Bal, Chief Executive Officer, Ironwood Institute, as to how better skill demand data should drive our domestic skill programs and international education and migration.

Ironwood Institute is a unique vocational education provider delivering a range of horticulture courses. We work closely with the industry to integrate learning and provide it with its next generation of workers. We are also the only registered training organisation (RTO) in Australia providing Graduate Diploma programs in Agribusiness which lead to Masters’ Degrees in several national universities. These programs are training the next generation of technicians and growers.

We have long standing connections with the Nursery and Garden Industry and are represented on the Nursery & Garden Industry South Australia (NGISA) Board. We work closely with the production horticulture industry, especially with the new generation protected cropping sector. Our teaching staff have extensive industry experience, and our students learn practical skills in nurseries and garden settings which is vital in building real competency.

The greenlife/horticulture industry is not front and centre politically, despite it being of vital importance to our wellbeing and our environment. Like many primary sectors, it has not featured prominently in skill demand lists and is not well understood as a career of choice.

If there are changes to be made, they must encompass the following elements:

• Improvement of the industry image and education of the importance of the industry to our society
• A more effective national promotion for schools and the development of school-based entry programs
• Improved career advisory elements
• The development of first level industry entry programs (micro-credentials) that can lead to further training and qualifications
• The development of a National Industry Skill model that allows for a range of entry and exit points in training rather than trying to fit a host of competencies into a qualification
• A recognition that the industry will grow in importance and needs to have key occupations such as Nurseryperson listed as in national shortage
• Attract international students to study horticulture Vocational Education & Training (VET) programs in Australia, especially those that lead to Higher Education qualifications.

In a perfect world, we would have better State and Territory skill demand data driving our domestic skill programs and international education.

We should not forget that most of the Job Network providers who deal with unemployed Australians have virtually no understanding of the opportunities the industry offers and rarely refer unemployed people to the industry. That has to change. However, the demand numbers are likely to grow at a time when we have a much smaller number of people available from the domestic market.  

A better managed migration program that sources people for our industry, with some prior knowledge (e.g. Agricultural Science graduates), looks like the only realistic long-term solution given our ageing population. Once again it requires a national industry approach to design such a program based on real industry skill demand data.  

In the future our industry will be competing for scarce labour with other industries that are also experiencing shortages, so we must be proactive and improve our exposure and connections. That means engaging with young people, unemployed people and migrants and offering a range of training options that will build interest and result in a new generation of skilled workers. 

Navtej Bal
Chief Executive Officer
Ironwood Institute

NB. The information presented here is provided for informational and educational purposes. Any views or opinions expressed in this piece belong solely to its author and do not necessarily reflect those of Greenlife Industry Australia (GIA) or its board members. GIA makes no representations as to the accuracy and/or completeness of any information contained within this article or its links.