Agricultural
15 February, 2023
Financial boost for Toowoomba TAFE ag training
The Queensland Government has announced a $1.1 million investment for Toowoomba TAFE that will boost its Rural Centre of Excellence into its second stage, firmly place Toowoomba’s TAFE campus on the agricultural training map.
The State Government had established Stage One of the Rural Centre of Excellence with a $8.1 million investment previously and the new money will grow the centre’s ability to provide cutting edge training to more students in the region.
Officially opening the centre’s second stage, Minister for Training and Skills Development Di Farmer said the state of the art facility is helping to prepare Queensland’s workforce for the anticipated growth in the state’s $23.5 billion agricultural industry.
“The Queensland Government is providing specialised training to get more people into more jobs, and we are making sure our industries are supported by people who are trained in the latest facilities and technologies,” Ms Farmer said.
Jobs Queensland predicts agriculture industry jobs in the Darling Downs- Maranoa region will increase by 11.5 per cent from 2020-21 to 2024-25 with a 20,000-strong workforce.
State-wide by 2024-25 it is predicted the industry workforce will grow to more than 87,000 – up 8,700 since 2020-21, and the Queensland Agriculture Industry Workforce Plan 2022-2027 has identified the four priority groups for future employment growth as grazing, horticulture, crops, and aquaculture.
