TAFE NSW Bathurst graduate, Esther Werner, is proof of the changing perceptions of the wool industry. After studying a Certificate IV in Wool Classing, Esther has made the move to the New England area to work as a superfine wool handler for RP Layton Shearing Contractors.

One is the son of a retail manager from Japan’s third most populous city; the other from a tiny town in Southern Italy. Both have travelled halfway around the globe to forge a career in agriculture in Australia and have turned to TAFE NSW to teach them the finer points of farming.

TAFE NSW Armidale graduate Ardina Jackson will jet off for a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience in Canada this month, spending four weeks exploring the country’s best agricultural practices after winning a Big Brother Movement Youth Support Award last year.

It only takes nine days to gain hands-on skills through TAFE NSW to help take the pressure off local dairy farmers.