It is hoped a $1.7 million horticulture facility at a regional Queensland school will help combat a skills shortage in the state's agricultural sector after the closure of multiple training colleges. The greenhouse, at Home Hill State High School south of Townsville, is the region's largest investment in agricultural education since the Burdekin Agricultural College closed in 2013.
Built to industry standards, the state government-funded greenhouse is a replica of that used in real-world horticulture production, and similar to Queensland's Department of Primary Industries (DPI) research facilities. Agriculture teacher Louise Nicholas said that with sugar cane and horticulture vital to the Burdekin region, investment was needed to keep students interested in agriculture.
"It's just so important to install real agricultural knowledge of where our food and fibre comes from in our young people," she said.
Six years after the privately-owned Burdekin Agricultural College closed, the former state-run Queensland Agriculture Training Colleges at Emerald, Longreach and Blackwater also ceased to operate. Retired fruit and vegetable grower Des Chapman said the collapse of the training facilities had led to a shortage of highly-skilled workers in the industry, such as agronomists and agricultural scientists.
Read more at ABC Australia
