ASPIRING agricultural students looked into their futures at the Tamworth Ag Careers Expo.
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The biennial event drew more than 30 exhibitors, from fish farmers to bee keepers and beyond.
Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School student Jack McKemey is just about to finish high school and move into his first career.
“I think there’s a lot of opportunities in primary industries, they’re never ending opportunities for anyone, and anyone can do it – it doesn’t matter if you’re from an agricultural background, it’s always easy to get into," he said.
“I’d like to be a cattle buyer or get into a managerial position in a meat company, see how we go but I’m not going to shut any doors.
“I like to keep my options open.”
Jack took silver in primary industries at the WorldSkills competition, held in Sydney earlier this week and said it was a huge eye opener to the types of skilled young people out there.
The biennial event is on the calendar of schools from around the region, with students coming from as far as Tenterfield, Kempsey and Moree.
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Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School careers adviser Robert Allanz said most of the students don’t realise how broad the industry really is.
“It just allows them to talk to different people from across the sector,” he said.
“We’ve got artificial intelligence with the cattle, Elders agribusiness company, a dog show, a drone guy – it’s not just one type of agriculture, it’s not just farming, it’s a real variety.”
Held a day before all the boarding students go on leave, a number of parents came to steer their children in the right direction.
Mr Allanz said it’s often an education for the parent and the child, to see what kind of agricultural careers are on offer.
"A lot of these kids are very keen to go into agriculture, they’re from backgrounds where their parents have been generational farmers or had generations of agriculture involvement,” he said.
“Or they’ve had the exposure at Farrer and they realise they like the lifestyle.”
It’s the fourth time the event has run at the school and Mr Allanz said it grows every year.
“It’s a great opportunity for a variety of agriculture industries to come and show our kids what working in that industry is like,” he said.
The Tamworth Agricultural Careers Expo was held on Thursday.