Educating wool’s next generation
AWI is involved in a range of initiatives to encourage the younger generation into the wool industry. Reported here is a snapshot of some recent AWI-supported initiatives.
Hay Inc Rural Education program
PHOTO: Mads Porter Photography
With the support of AWI, the Hay Inc Rural Education Program in the Hay district of NSW has helped 15 young people aged 18 to 25 years gain hands-on agricultural skills and experience in 2025.
The 15 young participants from across Australia who took part in the eleventh annual Hay Inc Rural Education Program came to together in June for their third and final training week. This concluded with them competing in the Hay Merino Sheep Show junior sheep judging competition followed by their graduation at which they were presented with their certificates.
The Hay Inc Rural Education Program was launched in 2014 with support from AWI in response to concerns about the decline in the traditional jackaroo/jillaroo system in the western Riverina district of NSW and the associated lack of stockmanship and other essential rural skills being handed down to the younger generation.
“Since the Hay Inc program was launched, 165 young people have now been given the opportunity to learn the practical agricultural skills needed for them to increase their employment opportunities on rural properties. It focuses on wool and livestock production and takes place in a practical setting in partnership with local woolgrowers,” said program manager, Sandra Ireson.
“The program is delivered by trainers who have many years of experience on extensive rural properties and in the livestock industry, covering topics based around the production calendar for sheep and wool production.”
The Hay Inc program is a three-week course, in three blocks of five days’ training, this year in February, March and June.
Practical sheep and wool topics covered included sheep handling and yard work; shearing, wool handling and wool shed management; sheep nutrition and grazing; lamb marking; and working dog training. A three-day shearing school was delivered by AWI trainers Brian Sullivan and Mike Pora at Paraway Pastoral’s ‘Steam Plains’ property near Conargo, with a wool handling presentation by Hay Inc alumni, Emilia Browne.
Other topics included fence construction and maintenance; water infrastructure and auditing; on-farm butchering; quad bike, motorbike and tractor operation and maintenance; farm health, safety and first aid; stretching and relaxation techniques; and employment finance and paperwork. There was also a discussion with an Ag Careers Panel about careers in the industry.
Hay Inc is planning networking events and opportunities for the 165 alumni that have taken part in the program.
AWI has supported the Hay Inc program each year it has been held since its inception. By supporting industry-led programs like this, AWI has helped improve the skills and engagement of young people interested in working in the wool industry.
Tax deductible donations can be made to the Hay Inc Rural Education Program through Hay Inc's fundraising account with Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR). See the website for details.
More information: www.hayinc.com.au
Making More From Sheep eLearning course
Are you new to the industry and interested in learning about the key profit drivers in a sheep and wool enterprise? If so, take a look at the Making More From Sheep (MMFS) eLearning course. It’s free and it takes less than five hours to complete.
The MMFS eLearning course is based on the popular MMFS best practice package of information and management tools for Australian sheep and wool producers. Developed with input from leading sheep producers and technical experts, MMFS was originally launched by AWI and MLA in 2008 and quickly became one of the sheep industry’s most recognisable and key sources of information.
AWI and MLA have continued their investment in the development of MMFS, making sure that it is up to date and includes the latest sheep industry research, tools and information on husbandry and management.
The MMFS information package has now been adapted into a high-level eLearning course. The course provides a flexible and easily digestible online learning format for people looking for a foundational overview of the best-practice principles that sit behind a sustainable and profitable sheep and wool operation. It covers the same module topics as the MMFS information package:
- Plan for success
- Market focused wool production
- Market focused lamb and sheepmeat production
- Capable and confident people
- Protect your farm’s natural assets
- Healthy soils
- Grow more pasture
- Turn pasture into product
- Boost business with breeding
- Wean more lambs
- Healthy and contented sheep
- Efficient pastoral production
Free to access, the course is available on AWI’s online Woolmark Learning Centre platform which is a web-based hub that houses free educational resources about wool. Available at woolmarklearningcentre.com, the platform was originally designed for professionals in the global textile industry, but is being expanded to include on-farm related courses. Other courses on the platform that are of interest to woolgrowers include Wool price risk management, and the ever-popular Wool appreciation course.
The platform allows learners to complete courses at their own pace. On completion of a course, users gain their own certification from the internationally recognised Credly digital credential platform, which can be displayed on the user’s own digital professional portfolio such as LinkedIn.
More information:
www.woolmarklearningcentre.com
www.makingmorefromsheep.com.au
WA Young Sheep Handlers Expo, Perth
Attended and co-sponsored by AWI, the WA Young Sheep Handlers Expo was held at Claremont Showgrounds in Perth during three days in July. The 60 young participants from across the state were allocated a sheep for a hands-on handling and ringcraft experience. They also deepened their knowledge of sheep and wool – nutrition, reproduction, conformation, behaviour, and much more – and left with an enthusiastic understanding of the various career pathways in the industry. The day was attended by AWI Industry Relations Officer WA, Tennille Norrish.
Jamestown Junior Education Day, South Australia
The Education Day hosted by the Jamestown Agricultural, Horticultural and Floricultural Society brought about 150 students from across South Australia to the Jamestown Showgrounds in July to gain hands-on learning about sheep and wool production. Students had sessions on commercial sheep classing, wool and ram judging, show preparation and handling, and livestock health. They also saw demonstrations of shearing and wool handling by AWI-funded trainers from SCAA Shearer Woolhandler Training Inc. The day was attended by AWI Industry Relations Officer SA Shannon Donoghue who is also the secretary of the Jamestown Sheep & Wool Committee.
Guide to careers in the wool industry
To encourage more youngsters to consider a career in the wool industry, AWI has produced a 98-page guide that showcases the diverse range of roles within the wool industry: from farmhand to wool classer, AI technician to veterinarian, extension officer to livestock agent.
The Your future in wool guide provides the pathways that students can follow to embark upon the particular career in wool that interests them. There are lots of stories about real people working in the wool industry and they share some great tips about what it takes to be successful and make the most of the available opportunities.
The guide also includes a range of useful websites and handy decision-making tools to help students on their journey in the wool industry.
More information: The booklet is available on the AWI website.
This article appeared in the Spring 2025 edition of AWI’s Beyond the Bale magazine that was published in September 2025. Reproduction of the article is encouraged.
