In 2008 the Cotton CRC invested in an Education Officer, Trudy Staines, for 5 years to promote science and agriculture in schools. The schools program was developed to enhance and expand the science and environmental management syllabus in primary and high schools by providing relevant cotton information and opportunities for practical on-farm activities. The strategy proposed by the Cotton CRC was the promotion of science and agriculture in schools to encourage school students into careers in science and agriculture, specifically the cotton industry through collaborations with school teachers, scientists, the cotton extension teams, industry, catchment and government education agencies, to encourage primary and secondary school students to develop resources and implement science and agricultural based activities that engage students and ultimately promote the cotton industry as an employee’s career of choice. The three year project reported on herein is the continuation of that initial project directly with the CRDC.

All of the main objectives of this project were met: to (1) become the central point of contact for industry education; (2) support the continued development of existing industry education initiatives; (3) actively engaging with PISCE; (4) represent the cotton industry in numerous education initiatives; (5) support undergraduate programmes; (6) support the industry post-graduate program; and (7) work with Gordon Stone in developing a new strategy for work force development.

Notable achievements included: (1) delivering the “Enviro stories” competition which is curriculum based with education kits and information packs available online. This activity is a stepping stone in introducing science and agricultural related concepts and is moving into the digital era with books available online; (2) engaging with The Primary Industry Centre for Science Education to promote Science & Agriculture to high schools (public & private). The program consists of class visits, science investigations, industry camp, industry placement, undergrad internships, teacher personal development, and CD resource development. This activity engages students and teachers to participate in science and agriculture areas with a ‘hands on’ approach and gives them a solid back ground in what careers are available within the cotton industry. It is an integral part of the young cotton professional program having an already established and proven model; and (3) Establishing better links with Cotton Agribusinesses and matching them with suitable undergraduate students for work placement experiences. Importantly, this project provided a proactive methodology for the cotton industry to seek out high quality, skilled and passionate young people. Their suitability was judged via placements with cotton agribusiness employers and through a structured process a database of suitable employees can be developed, based on feedback from host employers.

This project made an important contribution to the industry and rural communities as it worked towards defining career pathways for potential cotton industry employees. The industry and community benefits may not be immediately apparent but will develop in the years to come. The outcome of this project is that it will make a significant contribution to the continued supply of educated, highly qualified, skilled and passionate workers to the industry and a more science and agriculturally aware community. We detailed examples of the career pathways of 5 students that have interacted directly with several initiatives in the ongoing schools project. We also tracked the impact of our programs at local high schools in the region directly through subject choices taken by year 10 students for their year 11 curriculum