Priority 4: National Soil Action Plan

Identify and develop the soil workforce and capabilities needed to meet current and future challenges for Australia and the region.

Priority 4 links to goals 1 (Prioritise soil health), 2 (Empower soil innovation and stewards) and 3 (Strengthen soil knowledge and capability) of the National Soil Strategy.

Focus of activities

Priority 4 activities should focus on addressing the soil workforce and capabilities needed to meet current and future challenges for Australia and the region.

Focus areas for priority 4:

• better promote the range of opportunities and careers in soil
• review soil education in the Australian curriculum and identify opportunities for new soil education programs
• assess the gaps, barriers and incentives for improving the soil workforce’s knowledge and capacity and develop the scope of work required to address this workforce issue
• develop long-term, field-based, on-the-job soil training employment programs for recently graduated tertiary students
• understand new and emerging agricultural and environmental activities and the implications for soil workforce requirements by working closely with relevant organisations, including Soil Science Australia (SSA) and the Agribusiness Job and Skills Council
• support programs such as the SSA Certified Professional Soil Scientist and Registered Soil Practitioner programs to increase the pool of accredited trained soil scientists and programs, including the Soil Science Challenge, to address fundamental soil knowledge gaps
• support the capabilities needed in our region to improve soil management for human and environmental health, food security and climate adaptation through the GSP Pacific Soils Partnership, the Pacific Community and South Pacific Regional Environment Program.

Joint partnerships