DESCRIPTION - Jackaroos (male workers) and Jillaroos (female workers) are station employees who undertake a range of activities on cattle and sheep stations.

DUTIES - Jackaroos and jillaroos may perform the following tasks:

• care for livestock and treat minor injuries and illness
• muster on horseback and/or motorbike
• maintain station equipment and inspect, repair or replace fences, gates and yards
• assist with light household duties
• use and maintain vehicles and heavy machinery
• undertake farming work such as cultivation and haymaking
• undertake clerical and administrative tasks participate in local meetings and take part in community affairs.

WORK ENVIRONMENT - Jackaroos and Jillaroos spend most of their time working outdoors. In some states they receive free board and lodging, depending upon the number of people employed. They may live in shared accommodation on the property or occasionally in the house of the owner or manager.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES -

• enjoy working outdoors
• able to deal confidently with people
• good communication skills
• well organised
• able to make accurate observations
• mechanical aptitude
• able to endure isolation and limited social contact
• able to undertake manual and often heavy work
• interested in animals and their welfare
• able to handle animals with confidence and patience.

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DESCRIPTION - Shearing shed hands assist shearers, perform routine duties in shearing sheds and handle the fleeces after they have been shorn from the sheep.

Specialisations:
With experience and sometimes further training, it is possible to become a shearer or a wool classer. Shearing shed hands may specialise:
Wool Presser

DUTIES -

• pick up the fleece after it is removed from the sheep and throw it onto a large table for ‘skirting’ (process to remove dirty, stained or coloured pieces from the wool)
• remove inferior and stained wool from fleeces as directed by a wool classer
• grade wool which has been skirted off fleeces
• roll the fleece into bundles and pass it to a wool classer for classing
• transfer fleeces into wool presses to form solid bundles called bales
• sweep the shed floor to help keep the fleeces clean and avoid contamination.

WORK ENVIRONMENT - Shearers’ quarters either on the property or in a nearby town. Some work within their own district and travel daily to the shearing shed, returning to their own homes each day.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES -

• able to work quickly for long periods
• able to work as part of a team
• willing to travel and live in remote areas
• able to undertake manual work
• good physical fitness and strength.

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DESCRIPTION - Farm hands assist farmers and graziers with growing crops and/or feeding and raising livestock.

DUTIES - A farm hand may perform the following tasks:

• cultivate soil, sow crops and control weeds by slashing, rotary hoeing or chemical spraying • plant ground crops between rows of trees and bushes to control weeds and soil temperatures • construct wire trellises (frames) to support vines, berries and fruit • take part in harvesting operations using tractors, harvesters, forklifts and hand tools • feed livestock and poultry • prepare milking machinery and assist with milking operations • clean and sterilise milking machines • clear away animal waste and hose out operational areas • perform other tasks involved in the breeding and raising of livestock, such as shearing, dipping, branding, crutching, gelding, marking and assisting with artificial insemination • ride horses or motorbikes to muster sheep or cattle • maintain and repair farm buildings, bores, fences, machinery, troughs, windmills and other equipment.

WORK ENVIRONMENT - Farm hand work can be physically demanding. During lambing or calving, mustering, harvesting or fruit picking time, farm hands may be required to work long and irregular hours. Accommodation may be provided by the employer on the property.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES -

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DESCRIPTION - Rural heavy vehicle operators operate horticultural and agricultural machinery to clear and cultivate land and sow and harvest crops.

Rural heavy vehicle operators may specialise as a Forestry Plant Operator

DUTIES - Rural heavy vehicle operators may perform the following tasks:

• operate tractor-drawn or self-propelled machinery to plough land and fertilise, plant, cultivate and harvest crops
• adjust speed, height or depth of implements
• check safety conditions and avoid damage to plants
• service and maintain machinery.

WORK ENVIRONMENT - Rural heavy vehicle operators often spend all day outdoors, climbing up and down from air conditioned vehicles into the hot sun or cold. During summer or harvest time, long days (12 hours or more) are usual.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES -

• interested in practical and manual work
• good with mechanical things
• physically fit
• have no skin allergies
• able to work with oils, greases and petrol

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DESCRIPTION - General gardeners plant and care for trees, lawns, shrubs and flower beds in areas around public and private institutions, city squares, parks and gardens, sports grounds, as well as private homes.

DUTIES - General gardeners may perform the following tasks:

• carry out site assessment and soil analyses
• prepare and look after seedbeds and growing sites
• propagate and plant trees, bushes and hedges, flowers and bulbs
• prepare lawn areas by spreading top soil and planting grass, or by laying turf
• identify and treat weeds, pests and diseases
• prune trees and hedges, and install plant supports and protection
• install, operate and maintain drainage and irrigation systems
• grow and maintain indoor plants and conservatory displays
• construct features and facilities within gardens, such as paths or paved areas, rockeries, ponds and water features, and planter boxes
• maintain and repair gardening equipment.

WORK ENVIRONMENT - General gardeners work in the outdoors in all kinds of weather and usually start early in the morning.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES - General gardeners work in the outdoors in all kinds of weather and usually start early in the morning.

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DESCRIPTION - Wool classers sort, classify and grade wool into various types so that it can be sold at the best market price.

DUTIES - A wool classer may perform the following tasks:

• classify wool according to various characteristics (i.e. length, colour, evenness, burr content, strength and quality)
• make sure that the wool is prepared to industry agreed standards
• advise on the wool and its preparation for sale
• advise on sheep classing and selection
• instruct and supervise workers involved in wool handling
• instruct wool pressers and supervise the pressing, weighing and branding of bales of wool
• maintain and supervise records of wool characteristics
• analyse and advise on laboratory test results
• liaise with woolbrokers and advisory institutions
• implement quality management systems
• prepare documents that describe wool qualities.

WORK ENVIRONMENT - Wool classers work in shearing sheds and wool handling centres. They mostly work indoors and stand for long.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES -

• physically fit
• good with hands
• normal eyesight (may be corrected)
• good communication skills
• willing to travel
• able to work as part of a team

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DESCRIPTION - Shearers cut wool from sheep using power-driven handpieces, which are fitted with combs and cutters.

DUTIES - A shearer may perform the following tasks:

• take sheep from catching pens and hold firmly while shearing fleece in one piece
• select shearing combs to suit the type of sheep and wool
• treat any severe sheep skin cuts
• return shorn sheep to let-out pens for counting and checking
• shear stud animals with hand shears or special combs
• clean and sharpen combs and cutters

WORK ENVIRONMENT - Expedition shearers work in a team and may be responsible to an overseer or shearing contractor. These shearers travel long distances from property to property to work during the shearing season. Others may work within their own district and travel daily to the shearing shed, returning to their own homes each day. Accommodation is usually provided in shearers’ quarters either on the property or in a nearby town. Shearers supply their own work clothes, combs and cutters.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES -

• able to work as part of a team
• able to work quickly and consistently with hands for long periods
• good hand-eye coordination
• willing to live in remote areas
• able to handle sheep with confidence
• physically fit

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DESCRIPTION - Stock and station agents advise and represent farmers and graziers in business transactions such as the buying and selling of livestock, wool, fertiliser, farming and grazing land, equipment and merchandise.

Specialisations:
Stock and station agents may specialise in livestock buying and/or selling, auctioneering, property and merchandise sales, arranging finance and insurance, pastoral inspections, and stud stock or wool. They may be classified as grain merchants, wool buyers or wool merchants. With experience and possibly further training, stock and station agents may progress to senior positions such as branch manager and area manager, or to executive areas of finance, real estate and insurance.

DUTIES - A stock and station agent may perform the following tasks:

• study market trends and prices
• arrange transport of stock to saleyards
• take prospective buyers to inspect properties for sale
• assist in selecting livestock, and commercial and stud stock
• value livestock and advise on different marketing options for stock
• arrange the penning and auction of livestock
• arrange clearing sales of machinery and plant equipment no longer required
• advise and assist clients in the management of agricultural or pastoral companies, stock or farming problems
• conduct sales of wool on behalf of clients on a commission basis
• sell a wide range of agricultural products including chemicals used in farming and grazing enterprises
• write reports on business transactions
• arrange finance for the buying of livestock or property
• act as agents for insurance companies
• arrange private sales between sellers and buyers.

WORK ENVIRONMENT - Stock and station agents usually travel a lot by car, work long hours and are often required

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES -

• interest in the rural industry
• initiative and self-motivation
• good organisational skills
• good communication skills.

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DESCRIPTION - Agricultural technical officers provide complex technical support and advise on aspects of agriculture such as research, production, servicing and marketing.



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DESCRIPTION - Agricultural and resource economists study and apply economic principles to the use and management of resources in the agricultural, pastoral, fishing and forest industries.


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DESCRIPTION - Agricultural engineers study and advise on the use of engineering science and technology in agricultural production and management of natural resources. They apply their engineering knowledge and skills to solve problems relating to such things as sustainable agricultural production, the environmental impacts of intensive agriculture and the post-harvest handling of agricultural products.



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DESCRIPTION - Agricultural scientists study commercial plants, animals and cultivation techniques to improve the productivity and sustainability of farms and agricultural industries.



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DESCRIPTION - Crop farmers plan, direct, coordinate and perform farming operations to grow crops such as grain, sugar cane, tobacco, fruit and nuts, vegetables and flowers.

DUTIES -

WORK ENVIRONMENT - Education officers work indoors in offices and classrooms. They usually work regular hours, but may be required for evenings and on weekends. The work may be stressful.


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DESCRIPTION - Farmers and farm managers undertake farming operations to raise livestock and cultivate crops, fruit, vegetables and other agricultural products. A farmer is a self-employed person who farms their own land or a leasehold property rented from a landowner. A farm manager is an employee who is paid a salary to manage a farm or group of farms.


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DESCRIPTION - Livestock farmers plan, direct, coordinate and perform farming operations to breed and raise livestock such as beef or dairy cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, poultry or other breeds.


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