Making the step from classroom to the field
Breaking into a graduate job can be a tough gig but a group of students will be given a head start on the competition when they take part in the first Ag4U Career Pipeline Program next month.
The new initiative is the brainchild of Perth-based agricultural consultant Erin Gorter and has been designed to build the professional skills of students studying agriculture-related courses in WA.
Designed for final-year university students, the four-month online program is open to students studying aquaculture, livestock, forestry, broadacre or grains, apiary, horticulture or viticulture.
Exact dates are still being finalised but the first program is expected to run from July-October, with one session no longer than 90 minutes each per month.
The focus will be on developing professional networking skills, building a professional brand, and instilling confidence. There will also be an insight session with industry professionals to find out the post-university opportunities.
Ms Gorter said the program would also include insights from former students, who would share what they wished they had known before embarking on their careers, and pair participants with a mentor from an industry leader in their chosen agricultural sector.
Ms Gorter aims to help students build skills “often taken for granted” to help them prepare for the “sometimes daunting” transition from university to the workforce.
“For many years I have felt that we, as an industry, could do more to help pull students that have made the decision to study agriculture through to a career in any number of WA primary industries,” she said. “There are so many opportunities out there for eager graduates, and we need as many of them to want to join our industry as we can.”
Ms Gorter wants to hear from industry leaders and specialists interested in being involved.
Visit the Ag4U Career Pipeline Program Facebook page, call Ms Gorter on 0429 833 752, or email eringorter@agvivo.com.au.
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