NZ Young Farmers head challenges Mike Hosking's assertions on agricultural careers being "all about the practical"

Posted by on 17 June 2016 | Comments

Mike Hosking's assertions on Seven Sharp that the 20 000 jobs needed in the agricultural sector was "all about the practical" is being challenged by the head of New Zealand Young Farmers.

CEO Terry Copeland said while he agreed many more people needed to be attracted to agriculture, half of those people will be required to be highly skilled and educated to fit the myriad of primary industry careers required.

"We will always need someone to milk the cows and shear the sheep but the skillsets we need to go forward will mean that we also need tertiary trained graduates in fields like IT, science and research."

Mr Copeland said NZ Young Farmers had been doing a lot of work through various programmes to highlight the diverse and sophisticated careers in the primary industry but said many people still think only of the practical component on the farm as an agricultural career.

"And that's quite simply not the case. Our 6000 strong membership base is an example of the huge array of exciting careers on offer in the primary industry and includes scientists, researchers and technology innovators."

Exposing how flawed some perceptions of agricultural careers were was important, he said.

"It's vital we tell the stories of those careers just like we have at Fieldays and we welcome Seven Sharp and Mike Hosking to our site in the Career and Education Hub to see just how exciting a career in the primary industry can be."

For more information please contact Nadine Porter, Communications Manager for NZ Young Farmers on 0212140703