Trainee-turned-tutor says qualifications helped win farm ownership.
They say those who can't do, teach, but nothing could be further from the truth in the case of Kylie Welsh.
Over the past six years that she's been involved in agriculture training, both as a student and a tutor, the biggest change Ms Welsh has noticed is the transformation of dairying from a job to a career.
"There are so many avenues. When I finished my courses in production management, finance, and resource management, I had people from banks, accountants offering me jobs.
"The resources Agriculture ITO training offers give people skills that they take anywhere, not just on the farm."
The offer Kylie took was to teach what she'd been learning, as a tutor for Northland-based training provider Rural Training Solutions.
"I was useless at school, but I'd finally found something I could do. Being a tutor was a way to give something back, as well as to keep up with what's going on.
"Agriculture ITO can put you in touch with the information you need, and as a tutor you can bring in new resources, for example from Dexcel and from the local research farm. We get the latest research, and information that's specific to the area.
Ms Welsh said the knowledge sharing that takes place through classroom-based learning makes a big difference.
"When I talk to people in their 40s and 50s - they just didn't have the resources young people have today, the training. There was nowhere to go to buddy up, to see how people were doing things on other farms."
"It helps that you can physically do something, to explain to your students and make sure they understand what it is you're trying to get across."
Ms Welsh has about 60 students doing a range of national certificate and diploma Agriculture ITO courses. She has just finished her diploma of Agribusiness management and credits the knowledge and skills gained though Agriculture ITO training with helping make the jump from farm managers to farm owners.
"They say it's too hard, but it's not. If you have the ability and the skill, you'll find people to invest in you."
Ms Welsh and her husband Malcolm farm 315 pedigree Jerseys and Ayrshires on 200ha, 120 effective. From 700kg milksolids per hectare their goal is to achieve 1000kg within five years - and with the latest figures showing 830kg, Ms Welsh is clearly practicing what she preaches. |
