APPLICATIONS for rural-related degrees are back on the rise after a dip in recent years.
And with orientation week just around the corner, universities are expecting plenty of passionate agricultural students.
Charles Sturt University head of school of agricultural and wine services, David Falepau, Wagga Wagga, said the bachelor of agricultural business management and the bachelor of agricultural science had seen a significant increase in participants.
Mr Falepau said this year, both degrees had seen about a 40 per cent increase in internal accepted offers, with about 160 students signed up between the two courses.
Agricultural-related jobs with good starting salaries aren’t hard to find and Mr Falepau said plenty of employment opportunities had encouraged aspiring students to look into agricultural degrees.
That paired with the plateauing of the mining industry and better awareness of agriculture, mainly boosted by the media, has meant more people are inquiring about the industry.
“There’s three to four jobs for every graduate,” Mr Falepau said.
Marcus Oldham College principal Simon Livingstone, Geelong, said enrollments for agribusiness and agriculture had been increasing over the past couple of years.
Dr Livingstone has also noticed more females students become interested in agribusiness careers.
Dr Livingstone said with plenty of employment options for those studying agriculture, students were becoming more interested in the industry.
There’s also not a great deal of people working in the agricultural sector with tertiary education, meaning young people with degrees could have greater employment opportunities.
“Students who get their degree and have practical experience will work their way up career paths quickly,” Dr Livingstone said.
University of New England (UNE) deputy head of school of environmental and rural science, Geoff Hinch, Armidale, said there had been an increase in agricultural-related degrees right across the board at his university.
Mr Hinch said the amount of applications for degrees like rural science, agriculture and agriculture business have seen about a five to six per cent increase in the past two years.
This year had seen an increase in students again.
Mr Hinch said UNE had received about 60 per cent of applications from students attending rural and regional schools and 40 per cent from urban schools.
The availability of jobs had driven the increasing interest in agricultural related degrees at the university, Mr Finch said.
“There’s been an effort from people who have advertised there’s plenty of rural jobs out there,” Mr Finch said.
