Women outnumber men in studying agriculture

One of Australia’s largest and most respected agricultural colleges, Tocal College, has a record number of female students which account for 72% of the student population this year.

Deputy Principal of Tocal College, Bill Kinsey, said the college offers courses in agriculture and horse husbandry and has experienced a growing increase in female students in recent years studying at the CB Alexander Campus at Paterson near Maitland.

“This is a new and exciting era for agriculture in NSW with more women taking up the call to study agriculture, which brings new opportunities, new skills and revitalises one of the world’s oldest industries,” Mr Kinsey said.

“Almost three quarters of our students studying at Tocal College in 2012 are female.

“In total there are 106 students and 77 of those students are female.”

Mr Kinsey said women need to play an increasing role in agriculture, particularly due to the ageing population of farmers and the labour shortage across the sector.

“The median age of farmers across Australia is 52 and the actual number of farmers is decreasing, which means there will be more jobs to do as farmers reach retirement age – so women have an important role to fulfil,” he said.

“Women have the business skills, the education and experience needed to be competitive in farming, they can operate heavy machinery at the click of a button and they are great at working with animals.”

The College was established in 1965 with a group of 15 young male students.

“In 1972 we had our first intake of female students which made up just 6% of the student population,” Mr Kinsey said.

“Exactly 40 years after the first female students arrived, they now make up the vast majority of the student population.

“Tocal College attracts students from across NSW and interstate and has high retention and graduation rates.

“The completion rate for students enrolled in the full-time agriculture and traineeship programs at Tocal College is currently 91%, which is more than three times the national benchmark average for the Australian Vocational Education and Training sector.

“After two years of study our graduates go on to enjoy successful long-term careers in agriculture including running agribusiness ventures across the world and Australia or eventually returning to their family farm and running a profitable and sustainable business.”

Student Profile 

• Zoe Bullmore, 19, is a first year student at Tocal College Studying Certificate III in Agriculture 
• She grew up in Burra, near Queanbeyan, and hopes to establish a career working with beef, cattle and sheep.

Tocal College also offers short courses for farmers and the community through the PROfarm range of courses, delivered by staff from NSW Department of Primary Industries. The college also produces publications for farmers which are available as books or online.

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