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What is the Agriculture TAFE and Training Fund?
The Agriculture TAFE and Training Fund is a Victorian Government initiative supporting TAFEs and other training providers to deliver high-quality, modern and flexible training that will ensure students can carve out careers in agriculture.
Background
The Victorian Government is committing to a ten-year Agriculture Strategy which aims to drive Victoria’s recovery from the coronavirus and bolster the economy. The strategy identifies the need to modernise the state’s agri-food sector by delivering skills for the future.
To skill the next generation of Victoria’s farmers, the Government is investing $50 million into a four-year Agricultural College Modernisation Program.
The Agricultural College Modernisation Program has two components:
- $30 million over four years to create the Future Agriculture Skills Capacity Fund (Skills Fund). The Skills Fund will support Victoria’s TAFEs and other agriculture education and training providers to develop students’ skills, ensuring they have the training required for a future in agriculture.
- $20 million invested in three agriculture colleges to deliver new student accommodation and teaching facilities. (The University of Melbourne – Dookie Campus, Marcus Oldham College and Longerenong College).
The $15 million Agriculture TAFE and Training Fund (ATTF) forms part of the Skills Fund. Additional information about the Skills Fund is available on the Agriculture Victoria website,
Objectives
The objectives of the Agriculture TAFE and Training Fund are to ensure that:
- Victoria develops a more productive agriculture sector supported by targeted training and skill development that is delivered by Victoria’s TAFE and training sector.
- Victoria’s training system is delivering the right training that is modern, meets the needs of the agriculture sector and delivered by trainers with the appropriate capability to ensure the agriculture industry has the skilled workforce for the future.
- Victoria’s training system is better connected as an agricultural skills development pipeline, from schools through vocational education and training, into higher education and ongoing skills development in the workplace.
- Victoria’s training system is inclusive of all users, ensuring Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities, people living in remote areas, long-term unemployed, women, and people living with disabilities are supported to engage in agricultural training.
- Victoria’s agricultural training system incorporates Aboriginal knowledge and practices and involves and attracts more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
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Funding
Grants valued between $40,000 and $2,000,000 are available for eligible training providers for projects that deliver on the Fund objectives.
Eligible Projects
The Agriculture TAFE and Training Fund will support agriculture projects.
Funding is available for equipment, curriculum design, training delivery and other costs for projects that deliver new or revamped agriculture training that meets the Program objectives. Applications can include more than one of the following deliverables.
The costs of designing and delivering new training can be included in project proposals. This may include:
- instructional design for new courses, subjects and training packages or to significantly update existing training
- subject matter expert costs for design of new content
- senior educator costs
- teaching staff costs (including on-costs)
- training and assessment resource development
- other delivery costs, such as guest speakers
- costs associated with developing an accredited course where there is an identified gap in the Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management (AHC) Training Package
- travel costs including transport, accommodation and meal allowances for travel associated with delivery (e.g. satellite delivery and workplace visits)
- teacher upskilling required for delivery of training to students (e.g. relevant professional development, specialist knowledge, software, workplace assessors).
- licenses required for delivery of the project such as software, trade license requirements, equipment compliance license or other licenses required to undertake qualification delivery or training.
Applications that include curriculum design and delivery will need to:
- demonstrate links to the broader agriculture skills development pipeline;
- include farm safety as a consideration in their design and delivery.
Eligible Applicants
The following organisations are eligible to apply:
- Victorian TAFEs
- Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) holding a current Skills First VET Funding Contract
- RTOs who do not hold a current Skills First VET Funding Contract but have demonstrated experience delivering specialised training in agriculture in Victoria
- Learn Locals
The project must be delivered in Victoria.
Eligible projects must be endorsed by industry, such as through an industry association / organisation or relevant local business.
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Timing
Applications close 23 November 2022.
