Above:Members from the Australian pork industry have been on a journey to develop their leadership skills through their involvement in the Pork Leadership Course. Rachael Bryant from APL, and Anthony Martyniuk, Zelda Nel and Sean Pollock all from SunPork.
Over the past 12 months, six members of the Australian pork industry have been on a journey to develop their leadership skills through their involvement in the Pork Leadership Course.
The participants were:
- Anthony Martyniuk from SunPork who was keen to become more involved in the industry and develop his communication skills
- Cesar Gomez from Riverbend Pork Group who sought to enhance his industry knowledge, build contacts and develop his skills as a leader
- Jake Walker from Rivalea who wanted the opportunity to hone his leadership qualities and network with others in the industry
- John Dowling from Grunt Pork who applied to further his leadership expertise and develop his skills in brand marketing and media communications
- Sean Pollock from SunPork who was interested in building networks throughout the industry, public speaking and understanding how to learn and lead
- Zelda Nel from SunPork who was keen to learn and improve her skills alongside passionate like-minded people in order to better mentor future leaders in the pork industry.
The course comprised of three sections split over several workshops throughout the 12-month period.
The first section consisted of sessions run by The Livestock Collective, which gave the group insight into the public and consumer perception of the pork industry, then helped them to develop skills in communication, public speaking, brand building on social media and preparing for and engaging in interviews with the media.
This set the Pork Leadership Course participants up with the ability to tell their own stories and the story of pork production in a relevant and engaging way.
The Outback Initiatives camp pushed the partakers out of their comfort zones in a variety of ways.
It also gave them the chance to network with others from the wider pork supply chain who participated in The Livestock Collective’s training.
The second section – a camp run by Outback Initiatives – was an experiential leadership event that pushed the partakers out of their comfort zones in a variety of ways.
The camp gave the group opportunities to practice and build their skills as leaders and covered leadership theory, particularly around ethics.
The camp was an excellent opportunity for the course attendees to get to know each other, reflect on their own leadership abilities and to put both existing and new skills to the test.
The third section was an industries tour that took the participants to Victoria where they were exposed to several pork industry business sites, including Diamond Valley Pork, Peter Bouchier production facility and ACE Labs.
The group also toured other agricultural businesses, including MainStream Aquaculture, Teys Australia Charlton Feedlot and Deutscher’s Turkey Farm.
These tours gave the Pork Leadership Course partakers the opportunity to meet leaders from various agricultural industries and to both learn from them as well as share their own passion and knowledge.
The 2022-23 program will follow a similar structure, so if you’re interested in developing as a leader within the pork industry or if you have an employee or colleague who you think might benefit from being involved in this program, applications are now open.
The application form can be found in APL Update, or contact Rachael Bryant at rachael.bryant@australianpork.com.au or on 0437 651 839.
Applications close 9am August 29, 2022.
Rachael Bryant
APL
