Turf QLD Industry Alert |Great news! Subsidy win for Farm Management Training

Great news! Subsidy win for Farm Management Training

The Rural Jobs and Skills Alliance (RJSA), facilitated by Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF), has successfully lobbied the State Government to change the eligibility criteria for farm employees wanting to upskill through the Farm Business Management course. What this means is that farm owners, manager and employees who want to do the skill set but who may have already completed a Cert 4 or higher could now potentially access the subsidy.

The Farm Business Management Skill Set involves the completion of four agribusiness units and covers business planning, budgeting, risk management and succession planning. These skills are fundamental for farm businesses, especially when planning for business growth (ie seeking bank loans or applying for a Sustainability Loan through Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority) or recovering from natural disasters (ie applying for Natural Disaster Assistance Essential Working Capital Loans).

See: http://www.qrida.qld.gov.au/current-programs/Productivity-Loans/sustainability-loan/Sustainability-Loan-Primary-producer and http://www.qrida.qld.gov.au/current-programs/Disaster-recovery/natural-disaster-assistance-essential-working-capital/nda-essential-working-capital-primary-producer

Often a key eligibility criteria is that the person must provide “an adequate management plan” or be able to demonstrate “sound prospects for commercial viability”. This is where training in the  Farm Business Management skill set could be very beneficial as it includes a unit called “Develop and review a business plan” and another called “monitor and review business performance”.

To boost the resilience and long-term sustainability of the farm sector the Queensland Agriculture Workforce Network (QAWN) is collaborating with the Queensland Agriculture Training Colleges (QATC) to roll out state-wide Farm Business Management training in key regional areas, using state government funding from the Higher Level Skills Fund to subsidise the training for eligible participants.

Forthcoming course in Nambour

 7 – 8 November 2017

The full fee is $2,648, however participants eligible for funding will only pay $245!

If you or anybody you know may be interested in attending the course, please contact Michelle Templin, QAWN Officer for South East Queensland at mtemplin@growcom.com.au to secure a spot, or register online via https://www.growcom.com.au/farm-business-management-skill-set/#!form/EOIFarmBusinessManagement