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Engaging secondary students in agricultural careers
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Project overview
The Cultivating the Next Generation project aims to help teachers and career advisors provide accurate and high-quality advice to secondary students about the diverse career opportunities in agriculture.
The project was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, recognising the future workforce is dependent on the next generation seeing agriculture as an employer of choice, and critical to this is the role educators play in encouraging students towards a career in agriculture.
Led by AgriFutures Australia with CQUniversity Australia completing the research and national outreach, Stage 1 of the project aimed to better understand educators’ perceptions and knowledge regarding the agricultural industry and careers in agriculture, offering valuable insights into the perspectives and challenges faced by classroom teachers, career advisors, and school leadership.
Stage 2 of the project developed, delivered and evaluated the five resources recommended in the Stage 1 findings.
- Curriculum-aligned lessons for five subject areas including Agriculture, Science, Food Technology, Business, and Digital Technology;
- 20 video case studies of industry ambassadors showcasing the diverse range of jobs in agriculture;
- Industry incursions and excursions across every state and territory that involved 19 schools, 514 students and 35 teachers;
- Work placement guides for industry, schools and students to assist with organising valuable work placements for students;
- In person and online professional development workshops that delivered training to 247 educators to increase their confidence to promote careers in agriculture.
Each resource was trialled through a national outreach program designed to enhance Year 9-12 students’ and educators’ knowledge and perceptions of the numerous agricultural career opportunities across Australia.
Resources for schools
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Teachers guide to the Cultivating Futures project
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Lesson: Careers in Agriculture - Overview
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Lesson: Careers in Agriculture - Digital Technology
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Lesson: Careers in Agriculture - Business
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Lesson: Careers in Agriculture - Food Technology
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Lesson: Careers in Agriculture - Science
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Industry ambassador videos
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Cultivating the Next Generation explainer video
Find out moreResources for industry
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Agri-adventure: Work placement navigator for industry
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Agri-adventure: industry at-a-glance work placement navigator
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Cultivating the Next Generation explainer video
Find out moreResources for students
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Agri-adventure: Work placement navigator for students and parents
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Industry ambassador videos
Find out moreReports
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Cultivating futures: Engaging secondary school students in the world of agricultural careers
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Cultivating the next generation: the role of school-based educators in promoting agricultural careers
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Factsheet: Cultivating the next generation
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