Ag Colleges experiencing record enrollments
11/5/2018
This year there has been a noticeable increase in the number of young people enrolling in farm schools across WA. Statistics from the Education Department show that this year there was an increase by 37 students over the number of students on the previous record intake list of 2015. Another noteworthy fact about this year’s intake is that it has had the 2nd highest amount of female students with 34% of the total enrollments being female.
This year there has been a noticeable increase in the number of young people enrolling in farm schools across WA. Statistics from the Education Department show that this year there was an increase by 37 students over the number of students on the previous record intake list of 2015.Another noteworthy fact about this year’s intake is that it has had the 2nd highest amount of female students with 34% of the total enrollments being female.
Travis Hooper the deputy principal of WA College of Agriculture Cunderdin notes “We are certainly at capacity ... there seems to be an increasing interest in agriculture colleges across the State.” He notes that he believes that people are now understanding that agriculture is much more than just farming and that there is a lot of diversity within the agricultural industry.
WA has five agricultural colleges, they are Harvey, Narrogin, Cunderdin, Morawa and Denmark. These colleges offer high school students with classroom learning experiences as well as on-farm experiences. Previously their enrollment record was set in 2015 with a record of 604 students. Their enrollment has always steadily risen since 2014 starting at 544 and reaching 641 in 2018.
Five residential colleges from different areas saw students enrolling. Cunderdin on average has 70% of their graduates going into employment that is related to agriculture after completing their coursework. The students were interviewed and their aptitude and attitude were gauged along with their academic ability. Their week is spent in a classroom mostly but there are also times when they are in trade training and working on the school’s 4064ha commercial farm. With this program, the students get “the best of both worlds” according to Kevin Osbourne the principal of the WA College of Agriculture Denmark.
“With strong academic programs, students have the opportunity to continue with a more traditional education,” he said. “But they have the opportunity to undertake real workplace learning on a commercial farm.
“They have one foot in the world of school and the other foot in the world of work.
“These are not hobby farms, they are real commercial farms. These students are getting a taste of the real world while getting a ‘normal education’.”
The Morawa College of Agriculture has seen the highest increase of 54% since 2014. The college is just around 367 km just north east of Perth. 24% of the enrollments for the current year are female.
Trent Kensett-Smith CEO of WAFarmers says this increase in numbers is very encouraging for the industry’s future. “The agricultural industry provides vast career opportunities for professional, skilled and unskilled people, all of whom are vital for the continuance of the industry,” he said.
He notes that young people are clearly interested in the agriculture sector since not only are intake rates higher but also the employment rate for the industry has increased as well. He also notes that he is very pleased to see that the number of female students enrolling is increasing. He notes that the gender-stereotype has been broken meaningfully.
