Farm kids shown tricks of grocery trade at Woolworths
Four years ago, Woolworths chief executive Roger Corbett suggested the company initiate a scholarship program to give young people from the agricultural sector an opportunity to learn the tricks of the grocery trade and see what makes supermarkets tick.
From that idea has grown the remarkably successful Woolworths Agricultural Business Scholarship Program, which gives young people the chance to fast-track their careers with academic training and practical experience from Australia’s largest supermarket chain.
Run in conjunction with the University of Western Sydney and the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW, the course -in its third year -will this year will be held in mid-August.
Almost 60 students have been through the program, which includes tours of stores, fresh food markets and distribution centres, group work and presentations from key people in the industry, including senior Woolworths managers.
Woolworths Fresh Food general manager Michael Batycki said the scholarship, which last year had more than 1200 applicants, was designed in collaboration with the university.
“The two-week course has UWS lecturers as well as people from the agricultural society and horticultural, agricultural and aquaculture industries, and each of these provides participants with a well-rounded view on areas such as business requirements and studies, logistics and accounting. It’s a very comprehensive course.”
From Woolworths’ point of view, Batycki says, the course is a way to help people stay in the industry.
“Succession has been under threat. There are countless stories of farms ceasing to operate, and that’s a real concern.
“We want to show that there is a very good living to be made on farm.”
There’s an open question and answer session in the course, which allows Woolworths to respond openly and dispel a few myths about the industry, Batycki says.
“This certainly guarantees interest and stimulates discussion,” he says.
Woolworths supermarkets director Greg Foran says: “This course is a golden opportunity for young people to gain a valuable insight into our company and to further themselves in the industry.
“The Agricultural Business Scholarship Program is part of Woolworths’ commitment to rural Australia, which includes fundraising efforts such as the recent Backing our Farmers day, the Woolworths Fresh Food Bursary and partnerships with Landcare and the Country Women’s Association.”
NSW farmer Pip Job, from Cumnock, took part in the course last year. She is studying externally for a degree in ecological agriculture at Charles Sturt University, works three days a week for Landcare and operates the family property with her husband, a fifth-generation farmer.
Job says she would recommend the course to any young person working or studying in agriculture. She found out about the course through her local agricultural show society and the Country Women’s Association.
“The course at Woolies was great because it really increased my knowledge of the agribusiness area as well as giving me a golden opportunity to network and to meet others in what is a very diverse industry,” Job says.
“It’s a very intense course and the diversity of the training is brilliant.”
Job says the course exposed her to areas that her degree didn’t focus on, such as commercial methods of agriculture.
“For example, it was invaluable to learn about evaluating the beef product and how to sell directly to the consumer and cut out the middle man,” she says.
“We were exposed to facets of the industry such as marketing, corporate governance and the strategy of the industry that we wouldn’t have learned otherwise.”
Job says her degree focuses more on holistic land and people management, rather than commercial methods of agriculture.
“We were exposed to all links in the chain, from Woolworths’ perspective,” she says.
“Now I understand why meat is sold at $24 per kilogram off the shelf when producers might only receive $1.50.”
Job says the course also offered the participants a chance to mix with other young people working and studying in agriculture.
“Often we’re only involved with older people in the industry so it’s good to exchange ideas with younger operators for a change.”
The course didn’t just benefit the students, Job says. “Fresh Food people from Woolworths who have never been over the mountain or on a farm gained a lot too. It was a two-way exercise.”
Job sees a bright future for agriculture, although her husband ponders every day whether to stay on the farm. “But agriculture and farming are a core part of my life, whether I stay on-farm or not.”
Job says it’s interesting to consider where agriculture will be in the next 20 years.
“There are cycles in agriculture. At present there is a new wave of intelligent agriculturalists coming into the industry and that will encourage change-it’s a reinvigoration.
“I see a lot of people who are designing a system to support future generations. The drought has highlighted that the ones who are prepared to change are the ones who will survive. There are a lot of opportunities for those who want to take them.”
Anyone between the ages of 20 and 30 who is employed in the agricultural or horticultural industry or in the second or later years of study in an agricultural or horticultural faculty can apply.
Course fees, hotel accommodation and flights to Sydney are covered by Woolworths.
Application forms are available at www.wowcareers.com.au, call (02)88853516 for the next course, starting on August 10.
