In a six-metre high Cranbourne greenhouse on the fringe of Melbourne, a group of students are gaining real-world horticulture experience, albeit, on a smaller scale. 

“It has been very hands-on, and I’m really enjoying it,” says Michael, a 30-year old student undertaking a Certificate 4 in Horticulture Production. “I am really confident that once we finish here, we can walk straight into industry jobs.”  His studies at the Chisholm Institute of Tafe's horticulture centre are overseen by the program’s controlled environment leader, Tony Bundock.

“The concept is that we can take students into a greenhouse facility, we can train them in the skills they need for the industry and then ultimately they are job ready when they finish their courses,” Bundock said.

The facility, while not at a commercial scale, is said to contain all the sophistication and precision of a modern protected cropping structure. 

A central computer system monitors the site’s irrigation and fertiliser application, and controls its climate, humidity and ventilation.

“It’s giving the plants the perfect environment in which to grow,” says Tony Bundock.  “The facility was built to service the greenhouse industry, and it’s the only training facility of its kind that’s purpose-built in the Southern Hemisphere, so we’re pretty lucky to have it.”

Students are able to monitor a read-only version of the program, as well as track their own progress throughout the greenhouses rows of tomatoes via an electronic tag system. It provides the sort of tangible data the students can then pass on to future employers and serves as a practical model for other institutes to follow.

As the facility is designed to achieve real-world, year-round results, it has to navigate around the issue of terms and semester breaks to ensure yields and performance remain high. 

Source: abc.com.au