In recent years, WoolProducers Australia (WoolProducers) identified a gap in industry representative capacity building within the Australian wool industry. In order to address this gap, WPA pursued a grant under the Commonwealth Government’s Leadership in Agricultural Industries Fund and successfully received funding to support the Raising the Baa Program.

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The Leadership in Agricultural Industries Fund has now ceased, however due to the success of the program WoolProducers have determined to continue the Youth Ambassador role.

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WoolProducers cover large policy and industry issue portfolios with a small number of voluntary Directors and staff. To ensure future industry representatives and leaders apply innovative and well-informed thinking when considering strategy and policy, both they and staff require training in governance and technical areas.

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Wool Industry leaders are required to balance operating their private farm businesses with responsibilities to organisations such as WoolProducers. As such, attracting, further educating and retaining people within the industry becomes difficult due to demands on their time and the up-skilling required.

WoolProducers recognises the need to develop a leadership strategy that will assist the organisation to attract, educate and retain industry leaders across diverse areas of governance, finance, biosecurity, animal welfare and market access.

The Raising the Baa Program will provide an innovative and supportive environment for wool industry leaders to develop and refine their leadership skills in order to contribute to the ongoing capacity and capability building within industry. Through the program current and future leaders within the wool industry will gain tools to develop policy and strategy in a complex and challenging environment.

The program will ensure that these leaders are equipped to communicate this information to, and on behalf of industry, government and other key stakeholders. This will result in a robust, innovative and sustainable Australian wool industry.