A LEADING agribusiness company says increasing confidence in the industry is resulting in a rapid rise in employment opportunities, having filled 800 roles to date in 2021.
Speaking ahead of National Ag Day on Friday, Nutrien Ag Solutions managing director Rob Clayton said there were dozens of jobs available in agriculture and they were "ripe for the picking".
"This year we have recruited just under 800 people across the organisation and almost half of those roles have been filled by women," Mr Clayton said.
Mr Clayton said Nutrien's recruitment efforts were focused on addressing the changing skillsets required by the Australian agriculture industry.
"Technology, data and digital tools represent the next frontier for agriculture, so it's no surprise that our digital team has experienced the biggest growth in new roles and opportunities this year," he said.
"Our digital experts are developing the tools to better connect the people, processes, products and information that will help our farmers succeed."
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Mr Clayton believes the agriculture industry is not at risk from 'The Great Resignation' - the trend of large numbers of workers leaving their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic - saying the company was seeing an increase in the number of professionals choosing to pursue a career in agriculture.
He said they were attracted by the industry's innovation, commitment to sustainably feed the world, and also the positive outlook that came with working in a long-term essential sector.
"Our graduate programs continue to attract the top talent from across the country - we had more than 250 applications for our 2022 Agronomy Graduate Program and the same strong response for our Livestock Trainee Program which we are currently recruiting for," Mr Clayton said.
"This year we also launched new IT and Agribusiness Graduate Programs and shortly we will announce opportunities to join Nutrien Water in our Irrigation Apprenticeships.
"We are also proud to support the passionate and innovative future faces of agriculture through our partnership with AgForce's new Young Producers' Council and our support of Student Horizons which brings students to regional Australia to experience firsthand the career paths available in agriculture."
Animal production specialist Sarah Halleen joined the Nutrien Ag Solutions Toowoomba branch in August and she said there had never been a more exciting time to work in agriculture.
"Working in the field as an animal production specialist allows me to live and work in my dream job helping communities and producers achieve amazing things," Ms Halleen said.
"There is a buzz in ag at the moment - most farmers are experiencing a really good season, we are seeing high yields and strong commodity prices, and the industry is widely recognised as an essential industry - now is definitely the time to consider a career in ag."
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