Tasmanian Beekeepers Association
Media Release
20 September 2024
Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey industry needs young people to join the profession
The Tasmanian Beekeepers Association, Lindsay Bourke is calling on young Australians to consider Beekeeping as a career.
Mr Bourke says the Beekeeping industry nationally is facing a rapidly ageing workforce and is struggling to attract young people.
“Beekeeping is a great career for people who like to work with their hands outdoors and be creative.
“There is so much to producing honey, especially Leatherwood Honey, it involves caring for the bees, ensuring they are healthy and happy. Maintaining the hives, extracting the honey and packaging it for sale.” Mr Bourke says.
Mr Bourke added in addition to the agricultural side of the profession, Beekeeping involves marketing, sales, accounting, public relations and general management, in short the potential for career progression is huge.
Mr Bourke says more than being a great career, Australia as a nation desperately needs beekeepers to feed itself.
“Australian agriculture needs bees for crop pollination and without them we run the risk of starving, it’s as serious as that. So without beekeepers Australia is in a really bad situation.
“That’s a huge reason for young people to consider Beekeeping as a profession” Mr Bourke says.
Second year trainee beekeepers Taiha Jones-Webb and Ange Grabasch both agree it’s a great career.
Ms Grabasch says TasTAFE has an excellent Certificate III course in Beekeeping that makes the transition into the industry very easy.
Both Ms Jones-Webb and Grabasch agreed the TAFE course is challenging but very interesting and links in well with on the job training.
Ms Grabasch, from Beulah, Northern Tasmania, used to work as an excavator operator and was looking for a new challenge. She says after an initial interview Mr Bourke offered her a traineeship.
“I love it, it was just what I was looking for, perfect timing.”
Ms Jones-Webb, from Launceston, has worked in agriculture her whole life and she took the leap into Beekeeping and also highly recommends it.
Re the TasTAFE traineeship Ms Grabasch says there are eighteen modules and the teacher covers the whole of Tasmania, visiting on a regular basis for onsite training.
She says the teacher visits to assess the modules ensuring they have been completed correctly and the requisite skills obtained.
In terms of finding the employment opportunities Ms Grabasch saw an advertisement in Mr Bourke’s Sheffield store and Ms Jones-Webb found it in seek.com.
Both Ms Jones-Webb and Ms Grabasch encouraged young people who like working with their hands and outdoor to consider Beekeeping.
“There is so much you can do in Beekeeping, including travel.” Ms Grabasch said.
A highlight of the year is supplying ‘Package Bees’ for Canadian beekeepers. Ms Grabasch explains the Tasmanian Package Bees are needed by the Canadians because of the cold winters and their problems with varroa mite.
Ms Grabasch says it’s a good feeling to know that the work Tasmanian beekeepers do helps the industry in other countries.
Ends….
https://www.tasmanianbeekeepers.org.au/
https://leatherwoodhoney.org.au/
Links to photos of Taiha Jones-Webb, Ange Grabasch and Lindsay Bourke.
Photo 1 left to right: Ange Grabasch, Taiha Jones-Webb, Lindsay Bourke
Photo 2 left to right: Taiha Jones-Webb, Ange Grabasch
Contact details:
Richard Gerathy 0419 203 075