The future of work is changing and career pathways and roles in the food and fibre sector will continue to change at pace. Pathways in the food and fibre sector are not always linear and entrance into the sector can happen at many different points. There is high transferability across the sector with many core transferrable and technical skills that are used across different roles.

The career pathways project is working to address workforce gaps by increasing visibility of roles and career progression in specific food and fibre sectors as well as the transferability of skills across different sectors.

Some industries in the food and fibre sector currently lack publicly-available career pathway maps, making it difficult for both current and prospective workers to understand the roles and pathways within a specific industry or the ways that their skills can potentially be transferred into the diverse career opportunities within other food and fibre industries.

We have committed to addressing this gap by identifying and mapping the skills required for food and fibre occupations. We will develop an expanded range of industry-specific career pathway maps tailored to the unique needs of the food and fibre industries.
We will also create a skills-first career pathway framework that highlights transferable skills, as well as entry, progression, and transition points across the sector. This work will make employment opportunities more visible and accessible, empowering individuals to navigate and grow their careers within these vital industries.

Key Steps:

  • Project scoping - October - November 2024
  • Pilot data collection and transfer – December 2024 - January 2025
  • Formal project launch and extended data collection with industries - February - November 2025
  • Publication of industry specific career pathway maps as they are developed - March - November 2025
  • Publication of skills-first career pathway map - June 2025 - November 2025

Latest Update:

The pilot for mapping career pathways with three of our industry groups, Irrigation, Wine and Sheep, beef and deer, was completed in January 2025.  The development of industry-specific career maps for Irrigation and Sheep, Beef and Deer industries began in February 2025. We are currently testing draft career maps with farmers and wider industry.

Data collection has commenced for the framework, with the Greyhounds, Landscape Construction and Aquaculture industries. Data collection is complete for Sheep, Beef, Deer, Wine and Irrigation industries. Data from these industries has been transferred to a digital dashboard so that we can view and explore the transferability of skills between food and fibre industries.