AgSkilled

Workforce training for the agricultural plant-growing and livestock sectors.  Find out how to get involved. 

Female VET agriculture student outdoors with sheep
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The NSW Government has invested an additional $5 million for the AgSkilled workforce training program until 30 June 2025, supporting more agricultural workers to access training and help them adapt to evolving industry demands and opportunities.  

This funding will enhance vocational education and training for the agriculture and livestock sectors, ensuring workers are prepared for industry changes driven by innovation, research, and technology.  

The NSW Government remains committed to fostering innovation and excellence in the agricultural sector through strategic investment in workforce development.  

AgSkilled is administered under the NSW Government’s Smart and Skilled program, with agriculture as a priority sector. Training Services NSW works with identified agricultural industry representatives to improve agricultural productivity while embedding innovative and sustainable farming practices.

What the program does

AgSkilled helps current and future agriculture workers with: 

  • career entry pathways and employment outcomes 
  • production, business, technology and safety skills. 

The program supports NSW industry by: 

  • helping primary producers develop and retain a productive workforce 
  • boosting the agricultural industry in NSW  
  • increasing farm efficiency, productivity and profitability 
  • increasing the use of new technology and sustainable farming practices. 

Who it’s for

It's for anyone working or interested in working in the agricultural plant-growing and livestock sectors.

Agricultural plant-growing includes fibre, grains, production horticulture, viticulture and rice growing. This includes fodder and forage crops such as forage sorghum, pennisetum, millet, lablab, cowpeas, soybeans, grain sorghum and maize.
 
Agricultural livestock includes the raising/husbandry of beef cattle, dairy, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry, honey-bees, other livestock, animal management services used for commercial agricultural (food and fibre) production and/or pest/disease management for these livestock animals.

Applicants could be a primary producer, farm employee, industry professional, or someone seeking employment in the sector, including job seekers and school leavers.

What funding and support is there?

Students can get AgSkilled funded training if they're eligible for Smart and Skilled. 

Smart and Skilled provides fee-free training for courses that target identified skills gaps. 

Registering for AgSkilled Training EOI

Register your interest

Or scan the QR Code below.

QR Code for AgSkilled Training EOI

About the training

AgSkilled has four key training pillars:  

  • Production, Technology, Business and Safety. 

The training can be tailored to:

  • suit your business needs 
  • suit students with a range of skills and experience.  

Training topics include: 

  • Farm production 
  • Precision agriculture 
  • Soils and nutrition 
  • Emerging technologies 
  • Agricultural processing (on-farm) 
  • Retailing (on-farm) 
  • Farm machinery operation and maintenance 
  • Licensing 
  • Farm business management 
  • Workplace health and safety 
  • Leadership. 

Training locations 

All agricultural plant-growing and livestock farming operations, businesses across NSW. 

Available Courses and Units of Competency 

Employers and Training Providers can select any Units of Competency from:  

AgSkilled 3.0 - Course & Units of Competency (UoC) Listing 

For course availability, scheduling, new course proposals, and support and advice, contact the AgSkilled Senior Project Officers.

How do I become an AgSkilled trainer? 

To deliver the AgSkilled program, training providers must be: 

To submit an expression of interest in training, please use the Expression of Interest form and contact:  

The Steering Committee includes: 

Who delivers AgSkilled 3.0 training?  

Training Providers endorsed to deliver AgSkilled 3.0 include: 

Case studies – Developing our Agricultural Workforce

Macadamia growers benefit from contextualised training

Matt Weinert leads a grower liaison team working across all aspects of the macadamia industry. He’s grown his career in agriculture by studying at university, working in technical roles, and travelling the world, helping others to pursue their own careers in agriculture. 

Working with their preferred training provider, Matt and his team hosted on-site chemical spray application, chainsaw, and pole saw short courses, all contextualised and tailored to meet the needs of local NSW macadamia farmers and growers.

Feedback from growers on the fee-free tailored courses has been positive, and its stimulated interest in further best-practice horticulture techniques. According to Matt, with AgSkilled training, participants get the “how” and the “why”; it is an excellent opportunity for growers to get quality fee-free training.  

Large-scale berry producer picks on-site training to upskill teams

Sometimes it just makes sense for the training to come to your farm rather than sending staff off-site to upskill, especially where distance is a factor. 

With AgSkilled funded training able to be delivered on-site, projects and workshop manager Simon Fromm organised for his team to receive the practical training they needed at his company’s regional large-scale berry farm. So far, they’ve participated in the latest Telehandler, Quad bike and Chemicals in Horticulture short courses.

AgSkilled has enabled Simon’s company to develop a better training system where team members get the skills and certification they need to do their jobs safely and productively, and staff morale and workplace culture have grown to new heights because of the company’s investment in training.

First aid training for farm first responders

When your role is assisting the general manager of out-of-town farming properties in northwest NSW, you need to know that everyone in the team is covered and will be cared for in the event of a critical incident occurring.

And that’s why Mitchell Estens, Assistant General Manager, says they gladly accepted the AgSkilled funded fee-free first aid training to have multiple trained and competent first responders ready and available to help in any emergency. Having the course delivered locally meant lots of the team could participate all at once in training contextualised and tailored to their specific needs.  

As a result, there are now capable first aid responders in the team on all their worksites, and the training has stimulated the company to explore smartphone emergency apps, purchase an extensive range of safety equipment and install signage to assist emergency services in navigating their way to any site on the property.

Training helps women GROW their enterprises

Keen on a network with training to improve her agriculture business operations, Central NSW mixed enterprise farmer Denise McLellan joined the Generating Regional Outstanding Women (GROW) course.

Through the AgSkilled funded online and face-to-face free training, Denise learned the latest management practices, including team communication, work, health and safety (WHS) and human resources.

Being a member of a supportive network that included nationally accredited short course training has helped Denise to make changes to her enterprise, from recruiting staff all the way through to customer engagement. And significantly, it’s boosting her reputation as an employer of choice in agriculture.

Further information and resources 

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