New TAFE structure is good news for ag

It comes as State government policy after years of frustrations and blocked doors as the FMIA, and under its old name FMDA, has championed ag education, particularly as it relates to ag apprentices.

And it has a solid and influential backer in South Regional TAFE Bunbury director, business development, Chris Mayfield.

Mr Mayfield said the ag training sector is undergoing significant change away from a bureaucratic structure to a more streamlined TAFE structure involving three centres covering 95 per cent of WA.

"And only one regional TAFE will pick up the agricultural industry," he said. "That centre will be the first point of reference to get things done."

FMIA executive officer John Henchy said talks had already started with Mr Mayfield to discuss the association's needs with specific emphasis on the Agricultural qualification AUR 30416 - Certificate III in Agricultural Mechanical Technology.

"Not only will we be focusing on the qualification but on delivery options and those options will be determined by our members in consultation with the management of the TAFE colleges who pick up the challenge," Mr Henchy said.

Mr Mayfield said the Certificate III course would be a Just-In-Time module with less emphasis on certificates and scholarships and more emphasis on developing specialised skills to be job-ready.

"We'll establish a world class training facility to cater for ag mechanical technology at a dedicated machinery training hub," he said. "That hub will be at Muresk and recognised as a Centre of Excellence with industry input into the curriculum.

"We have in-principle support from OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) for unified, flexible delivery methods with protects OEM intellectual property so essentially we'll be teaching the same stuff throughout the State.

"If an employee can't send staff to us, we'll come to them.

"Our trainers can go on-site, to say an ag dealership, to train apprentices.

"We'll have a testing and proving ground at Muresk with on-site accommodation for apprentices and employers will have a 24/7 access to our online training platform to access monthly updates on their employees.

"A dealer can ask for training on-site with the occasional trip to Muresk for a specific component of the course and I would encourage dealers to pool apprentices in one town to get a more tailored package from our training providers."

Answering a question on TAFE colleges not teaching the basics to apprentices, such as drilling steel or flat-bending steel, Mr Mayfield said it would be up to the FMIA to drive needs to the TAFE training council to change training packages where needed.

"This supposedly will be asked for from industry," he said.

FMIA president Alan Fisher confirmed the association's desire to be a conduit to influence training packages required by association members.

Mr Mayfield also said there would be emphasis on training providers.

"For example, the models we are using for dairy traineeship are endorsed by Dairy Australia and I'm employing trainers from within the dairy industry," Mr Mayfield said.

"We can also train the trainers to keep pace with changing technology and there's no reason why OEMs can't work with TAFE colleges in WA."

Mr Henchy said the FMIA detected a desire in the TAFE system to help the ag industry and people were prepared to work with the association.

"We believe it can work and can work well," he said.