The pilot citrus-specific diploma program will be rolled out by SuniTAFE, Mildura in February 2016.

The Diploma of Production Horticulture Citrus qualification has been jointly developed by SuniTAFE, TAFE NSW- Riverina Institute, NSW Department of Primary Industry, local growers and Citrus Australia.

The two-year part time course will initially be delivered at the SuniTAFE farm, Cardross and will involve 18-20 days of hands-on classes, practical orchard sessions and seminars presented by industry experts, during each of the two years of study.

Citrus Australia market development manager, Andrew Harty, said the workload is designed to fit in around an employer’s requirements, and urged all employers to review their staff training needs, and encourage promising employees to enrol.

“The Australian citrus industry is entering an exciting growth phase, with massive new marketing  opportunities to supply Asian export markets,” Harty said. “Free trade agreements, favourable currency exchange and huge demand for ‘clean & green’ Australian fruit are all helping to drive citrus expansion., but at the same time, we need to lift our game to ensure we are supplying only the best quality product as efficiently as possible, and to achieve that, our supply chain will need managers with greater knowledge, skills and technical expertise than ever before.  If you are working in horticulture and have a passion to succeed, there is no better time to step up  to the next level by enrolling for the Citrus Diploma.”

Course topics will focus on:

• Production, including tree physiology, nutrition, pruning, crop regulation, orchard re- development, growth regulators, weed and insect IPM.
• Harvesting, including yield forecasting, maturity testing, logistics & harvest practices.
• Irrigation.
• Farm management, including staff/people skills, budgeting, OH&S training, and quality assurance.
• Industry issues, including market requirements, protocols and value chain understanding.

“There is an urgent need to develop a career pathway in the Australian citrus industry, and develop a skills training framework to support this,” Harty said. “This was the key message delivered by delegates at the Citrus Australia National Issues Forum last  week, during an interactive session on skills gap analysis facilitated by Hort Innovation. There was strong audience feedback that a new Citrus focussed Diploma program would give an excellent kickstart to developing leadership and management capacity in the industry.

An information session will be held at the SuniTAFE farm, Dairtnunk Avenue, Cardross on Tuesday,  8 December, 4pm to 6pm.

For more details, or to book a place at the information session, please call 1300 478 648 or e-mail.