THE region's next generation of shearers got their first taste of the industry after the Glen Innes Shearing School reopened recently.
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Students McIntyre High School tried their hand at shearing as the school opened for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown training.
The institution is run by the Regional Development Australia Northern Inland (RDANI) and recently received a $60,000 grant from the state government.
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NSW Agriculture Minister and Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall said it was fantastic to see the region's youth giving shearing a go.
"Over three days last week, students participated in a number of workshops, learning from wool industry stalwarts the techniques of shearing and wool handling, safety in the wool shed and about animal health, husbandry and biosecurity," Mr Marshall said.
With COVID-19 disrupting so much of their education this year, he said it was great to see local students, and some from Glen Innes High School, back in the shed and learning skills which could provide them with a career for life.
"As our state's agriculture minister, I want to thank these young people for their enthusiasm and interest in wanting to be involved in the industry which has made our region so successful."
The school's reopening comes as wool producers across the country scramble to fill the void left by hundreds of workers from New Zealand, who will not be able to travel to Australia due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shearing Contractors Association of Australia secretary Jason Letchford told ACM in August he was concerned by the workforce drop.
"You could be looking at between five million and seven million sheep that those seasonal shearers would shear in a year," Mr Letchford said.
"We've got a national flock of around 65 to 68 million sheep at the moment, so you are talking about 10 per cent of the nation's sheep that won't be shorn by the workforce we'd normally have here to do them."
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Mr Marshall said the Glen Innes Shearing School was critical to helping train future shearers to help fill the void.
"Wool Works is a case study for the type of hands-on education which is required if we wish to equip people with the skills needed for the jobs of the future," Mr Marshall said.
"As we have seen, COVID-19 international border closures have sent shockwaves through the wool industry, with New Zealand shearers unable to enter the country to fill a shortage of shed workers during the winter-spring shearing.
"Now is the time to start training our own people to fill that gap.
"Wool growing will play an important role in the recovery of regional and rural NSW in the post COVID-19 economy and I'm glad to see we have young people ready, willing and able to maximise its potential."
RDANI Executive Director Nathan Axelsson said there had been a huge amount of interest in the Wool Works program leading up to its resumption.
"If it wasn't for COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings, I think we would have ended up with more students than sheep participating in this school," Mr Axelsson said.
"As the restrictions ease I think we have a great opportunity to extend the program's reach, in particular to High Schools at Moree, whose teachers have shown they are keen to get their students access to this high level of practical, hands on experience.
"Our intention is to undertake our final school for 2020 in November, before jumping in again in March/April next year."
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
