Arthur Blewitt

CEO - AgriFood Skills Australia

March 31, 2009

Assume the mantle - Australia as key exporter and source of job growth

Australia’s economy is staggering under the impact of the global recession. Some industries are in serious trouble and the number of displaced Aussie workers is expected to rise sharply. This is bitter irony for the majority of Australians, whose standard of living and prosperity has been the envy of the world.  Out of this battle scene of economic rubble comes a thoroughly unexpected message of hope and promise - one major industry poised to ‘Assume the mantle’ as Australia’s key exporter and source of job growth. The agriculture and food industries – know as the AgriFood Industry – are staples of the Australian economy. AgriFood feeds 60 million people and occupies two thirds of the Australian land mass. Yet until recently, this $200 billion a year national industry was struggling to find enough workers with the skills to harvest produce and fill the supermarket shelves. Now, today, AgriFood Skills Australia argues that there will be jobs for those Australians who are displaced from other industries; AgriFood will withstand the worst of a world recession. The CEO of AgriFood Skills Australia, Arthur Blewitt, will launch the latest research into the AgriFood industry at the National Press Club, giving a crucial injection of strength and vigor to an economy in freefall.