With the New England region reporting one of the highest rates of skills shortages in the state at 54.9 per cent[1], we have been working with BackTrack to help reduce this plight by training up the next generation of workers and helping disadvantaged youths turn their life around through its AgLads program.
BackTrack, is a not-for-profit community organisation that aides and assists young people in the New England region who are struggling to reconnect with education and training.
Since 2014, we have provided more than $200,000 in funding towards BackTrack’s AgLads program, an industry-led initiative that provides practical skills, training and experience on farms, as well as pathways to locally relevant employment opportunities.
More than 180 young boys aged between 12 and 18 years have been involved in AgLads since it began, and over the past 18 months eight participants have secured traineeships with two having gone on to achieve full time work.
[1] Business Australia, Business Conditions Survey (2017) https://www.businessaustralia.com/