News story

Muresk Institute recognised for its impact on agricultural skills training

​7 September 2016

Muresk Institute’s role in transforming agricultural education and training has been recognised in this year’s Premier’s Awards.

The institute has been named as a finalist in the Premier’s 2016 Excellence in Public Sector Management Awards. It is contesting the Revitalising the Regions category with this submission New futures: transforming agricultural education and training for the 21st Century.

The institute will contest the category along with entries from the Departments of Commerce and the Attorney General. Winners will be announced on November 2.

Muresk Institute General Manager Prue Jenkins said reaching the final stages of the awards was great recognition of the work carried out to re-establish the institute as a centre of specialisation in agriculture.

“Muresk Institute has a long history in Western Australia as a respected provider of agricultural education and training, and celebrates its 90th anniversary this year,” she said.

“We are proud of the work that has been done here in recent years to ensure the institute continues to have a significant role in supporting the State’s agricultural sector.”

Muresk Institute has been transformed into a multi-tenanted and multi-use facility, and is becoming an important hub for agricultural training, education, and research and development under a range of innovative partnership models.

This is supported by WA’s Royalties for Regions funding, which is helping to develop and deliver agricultural training and higher education programs at Muresk to build the skills base of agricultural regions across the State.

“Through its programs and partnerships, Muresk Institute is improving the perception of agriculture and agribusiness careers, while providing unique learning experiences and employment opportunities for students,” Ms Jenkins said.

“Training is being delivered to more than 1200 students this year, which far surpasses numbers we’ve had previously. For example, we had a total of 199 students combined in 2013 and 2014.

“Students are undertaking courses in diploma and degree level programs, as well as a range of agricultural skills sets and industry driven short courses.

“Muresk Institute is cultivating modern agriculture to meet the needs of industry and students. We will continue to strengthen our existing partnerships and work to establish new opportunities in training and skills development for the agricultural sector.”

Photo caption: ​Muresk Institute Business Development Manager John Smoker, Premier Colin Barnett, Muresk Institute General Manager Prue Jenkins and Tierra Australia Director Peter Burgess.