AGRICULTURAL education is set to step up with the intention of re-commissioning Muresk as a centre of learning excellence.
According to CY O'Connor Institute of Education and Training (CYOC) managing director John Scott, a three year residential Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management degree is planned for 2014 with marketing starting later this month.
Final arrangements are dependent on transitional funding from the State Government, which is expected in the State Budget.
Mr Scott also announced a new ag machinery stream for heavy duty auto trade qualification at CYOC in 2014.
This will comprise 24 core units with 12 electives (out of a pool of 36 to choose from).
"It will be an example of a flexible delivery model that hopefully will mark CYOC as a specialised delivery centre," Mr Scott said.
"We are dialoguing with a dealer to provide a year of the three year course so the dealer can deliver company-specific requirements.
"It is a way we can work with industry and we are keen to gain support from organisations like the FMIA."
Mr Scott said the much-trumpeted Certificate IV in Agribusiness course attracted single digit figures last year with six graduates, including one who pursued University courses.
"The other five gained employment in the industry," he said.
"The course was designed around seeding and harvest so students could go back to the farm to help out.
"Unfortunately we had no takers for 2013 in the face of Muresk's uncertain future as a residential college but we picked up part-timers through our flexible program.
"There remain opportunities for machinery dealer staff, for example, to gain formal higher accreditation, including mature-age entry for people looking to upskill to a new level in agribusiness."
Mr Scott said CYOC also was focused on precision agriculture (PA) training, after lobbying from FMIA executive officer John Henchy.
"We will be offering a short course program in PA involving Boekeman Machinery Northam PA specialist Peter Crippen," Mr Scott said.
"We have an in-principle agreement with Boekeman Machinery for Peter to share his knowledge at Basic, Intermediate and Advanced levels at Cunderdin high school and at Muresk.
"We aso have gained funding for formal research into PA to be done by students as a research project."
According to Mr Scott, one of the characteristics of living in regional WA is the inequity in access to higher education.
"There is not much in the way of formal and accessible education in PA," he said.
"The University of New England (NSW) offers a higher education Diploma in Agriculture with a major in PA, by distance education.
"We have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UNE so that graduates of the Certificate IV in Agribusiness will gain automatic entry to the UNE diploma course."
