Training news

September 2011

If you have a degree in Science, Economics or related work experience*, including horticulture, the Master of Agriculture may be the degree for you.

1 July 2010

The new merged AHC10 Training Package is in its final stages of completion and will include qualifications for Agriculture, Production Horticulture, Horticulture, Conservation and Land Management and Services industry sectors.

May 2010

The Green-Life Careers website continues to increase in usage by those thinking about a career in the Amenity Horticulture industry and those already working within our industry.  Having, last week, celebrated the milestone of achieving over 100,000 hits to the site we couldn't be happier with its success to date.

May 2010

The AHC10 Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package project is moving into the final stages of review progress.

March 2010

Current Australian Apprenticeship Incentive Program Information is now available.

March 2010

2010 Minister’s Awards for Excellence – Are you a supporter of Australian Apprentices?

The Minister’s Awards for Excellence recognise and reward organisations and individuals who make an outstanding contribution towards the training of Australian Apprentices. If you meet the eligibility why not give it a go?

March 2010

The latest validation draft of the National Training Package is now open for feedback.  Urgent action required due to the short timeframe given for feedback.

March 2010

The Nursery & Garden Industry will be represented this year at the 2010 Careers in Agriculture Expo which is taking place during this year’s NSW Royal Easter Show.

17 February 2010

The Horticulture Water Initiative (HWI) is an across industry program that seeks to ensure the ongoing access to adequate, reliable and secure water supplies.

16 February 2010

Closing 5 March 2010 - AgriFood Skills Australia is seeking Expressions of Interest for funding under the AgriFood Skills Australia / Rural Training Council of Australia Rural and Related Industry Sectors Training Fund.

16 February 2010

The George Alexander Foundation / ISS Institute Fellowship is now open (closing for applications on 28 June 2010) for trades people and artisans in early to mid career to further develop their skills, knowledge and experience.

21 January 2010

NGIA would like to gauge interest from educators around the country on a proposed National Educators Meeting to be held in 2010.

21 January 2010

After going 'live' in June 2010, the Green-Life Careers website continues to grow in popularity for both educators, industry and potential students.

There are currently 40 educators from both the VET and higher education sectors who have requested to be listed on the site.

January 2010

A new component of this year's NGI national conference in Darwin (April 2010) is a student 'poster' session, and NGIA are seeking poster submissions from students relating to their research / course work for display.  It is an opportunity to show the industry what fantastic things students (and their educators) are doing.  The aim is to showcase all the hard work being done in the education area of our industry.

January 2010

AgriFood Skills Australia (AFISC) in December 09 asked for industry input into their Environmental Scan 2010.

The AgriFood Environmental Scan 2010 aims give an insight into the factors shaping and impacting on the agrifood workforce. The Scan based on real-time industry views and evidence from across Australia about skill needs and how the training system needs to respond.

January 2010

The merger of the VET Rural Production, Conservation & Land Management, and Amenity Horticulture training packages has been a work-in-progress for over 4 years now. With ‘final’ feedback from industry given to AgriFood Skills Australia (AFISC) in July 2008 and only minimal changes made by them, we advised that industry would not support their ‘final’ draft.  The ‘validation draft’ posted on the AFISC website in October 09 again did not contain the majority of industry requests - again we do not support the draft.

20 August 2009

Issue No. 7 of the NGI Nursery Paper series looks at Training, Careers and Employment in Horticulture.

According to recent research, Amenity Horticulture is one of Australia's fastest growing industries, closely linked to urban development and lifestyle.  Does a fast growing industry require special attention by government to assist it in the skilling and employment of personnel into the industry? Or, does the responsibility of this role lie on the shoulders of industry bodies and/or individual employers?

Released May 2009
If you have been considering CNP membership, or if you have considered joining up a member of your team to this valuable recognition program - then now is the time to act!   There are currently two membership deals that will be expiring on 30 June 2009 - if eligible they really are too good to miss.

Released May 2009
NGIA have been working with industry stakeholders for a number of years on the merger and review of the industry's Training Package AHC09. Unfortunately the current draft documents, released in April 09 have not incorporated many of the areas of concern to our industry which have been previously brought to AFISCs attention.

Released June 2009
NGIA has commenced an industry career project aptly named Green-Life Careers.  As the industry continues to be identified as an area of skills shortage, it is vital that we ensure Australian workers are made aware of the issues, the opportunities and the career pathways available to them within the industry.

Released May 2009
According to the recently released Environmental Scan by AgriFood Skills Australia, ‘national consultations and validation have brought into sharp relief the three defining skills and workforce development issues which must be addressed to realize the industry's potential, and further strengthen its economic and social contribution to Australia.

Released January 2009
Recently the National Centre for Vocational Education and Training NCVER released a publication presenting estimates of apprentice and trainee activity in Australia for the quarter ending 30 June 2008. Many of the figures seemed very low and we were interested to know just where the Horticulture sector was placed in this mass of figures and tables. We requested a targeted report for our sector and found some interesting figures.

Released July 2008
Vocational education and training VET has a role to play in sustainable regional development. Through five regional case studies this research examines how well VET is tailoring supply to skill needs, how VET has become more flexible to obtain a better match between demand and supply, and whether partnerships have been linked to whole-of-government frameworks in ways which support sustainable regional development.