Despite the continuous demand for growth in the agricultural workforce, schools’ ability to provide agriculture classes is becoming increasingly difficult.

Jackie Driver, the head of agriculture at Ashburton College, has indicated that New Zealand schools often face difficulties in offering agriculture courses for high school students due to a severe staff shortage.

"The barrier is the lack of teaching staff.”

Driver said there is no dedicated training outside of general science and business for teachers wanting to teach in agriculture.

Driver herself was originally a chemistry teacher but switched to agriculture ten years ago after feeling a need for a change of direction.

"The vast majority of agriculture teachers have transitioned from another subject area.

"We are relying on people training to be science teachers and then going onto agriculture."

Her position at Ashburton College was vacant for around 18 months before she took up the role as head of department, having relocated from Morrinsville to be closer to her family.

"If I hadn't moved down here, they could still be waiting to fill the position," Driver said.

While Ashburton College offers agricultural science and Primary ITO Trades Academy courses, Agribusiness is missing from the course list, mainly due to staff availability.

Driver points out that there are also no dedicated courses at Teachers College specifically for Agribusiness.

"Agribusiness teachers tend to be business study teachers who have an interest in the area."

Agribusiness in Schools project curriculum director and secretary and treasurer for the Horticulture and Agriculture Teachers Association (HATA) Kerry Allen said the issue is exacerbated by a lack of secondary teacher's training across the board.

"There aren't many teachers coming through teachers college generically, so it's really difficult to attract them to this space."

Allen describes the issue as a "chicken and egg" scenario: the lack of teachers leads to a lack of student demand.

"What comes first? Is it student demand, or is it student teachers?

"But actually, lack of teachers is the barrier.

"We can't fulfil students' needs because we don't have those teachers."

Allen said that some teachers can successfully transition from other subjects to agriculture, but it can be risky.

"Some schools have had that sort of situation and failed miserably.

"It didn't work because the teachers didn't really understand what they were doing because they hadn't been trained in that.

"Students know when things aren't right; they just walk with their feet and then don't take that subject again."

Agribusiness in Schools, in conjunction with HATA, has been promoting agriculture and horticulture as subjects for student teachers and is seeking to attract individuals from outside the education sector to pursue a career change in the primary industry.

"They might be people that are already in the industry, and are wanting a change of scenery, and they just need a post-graduate diploma.

"We put a lot of options out there as to how they can get that diploma."

Allen said that despite the organisation's best efforts in this area, it struggles to attract applicants, citing salary as one potential obstacle.

"Teaching pays less than what you can get in the industry.

“Some teachers might learn more than $100,000 per year if they have extra responsibilities, but that's the top of the pay scale, and you only get that after seven years.

"That's a big comedown from working on a farm or in some part of the value chain."

Allen said that on top of that, agriculture and horticulture can be more difficult to teach than other subjects.

"Our content changes constantly, whereas maths content probably hasn't changed much over a hundred years."

Allen said agriculture teachers also have resources to manage, which adds to their workload.

"The life of an agriculture and horticulture teacher can be much larger, and the resources to manage can be a barrier.

"You have glasshouses, plots, orchards and a farm potentially, but you are paid exactly the same as a maths teacher."

Allen said she has been "fighting these problems for thirty years", and has tried to lobby Teachnz to provide scholarships for agriculture and horticulture, but so far has been unsuccessful.

"They just keep putting us under science."

By Claire Inkson