Tocal College in the Lower Hunter Valley in NSW is on the land of the Wonnarua people. Tocal means ‘plenty’ or ‘big’, which fits perfectly with Tocal’s agricultural aims and its status as one of the largest and most diverse agricultural colleges and RTOs in Australia.

With just 14 students, Tocal College was opened by Sir Robert Menzies, the then-Prime Minister of Australia, in 1965. Today there are more than 220 graduates per year and over 4,000 participants in its skills training program delivered across NSW. Now in its 57th year of operation, the college delivers quality nationally accredited training and assessment for students across the agricultural and conservation and management industry sectors.

Students can study certificate and diploma programs in agriculture, horse husbandry, dairy, and conservation & ecosystem management. Flexible course options are offered, including part-time and full-time, short courses, and distance education. Specialised agricultural programs include youth education, traineeships, Aboriginal rural training, biosecurity and conservation and ecosystem management.

Traineeships enable students to gain national training and qualifications while earning a living in the agriculture industry. At Tocal traineeships are open to farm employees which will lead to students gaining a nationally accredited Certificate II, III or IV in Agriculture. Traineeships can take up to two years and consist of six weeklong study blocks of on-farm residentials which are also supplemented with online delivery.

Principal Darren Bayley said, ‘it is great to see the growing interest and demand for agricultural traineeships. We have seen a doubling of trainees in the last couple of years’.

Tocal offers traineeships at two locations. The Paterson campus in the Hunter Region, NSW offers rural, bees and dairy traineeships and the Yanco campus in the Northern Riverina, NSW offers rural.

Across all programs, Tocal students have unique opportunities where they can develop hands-on and practical skills while working across a range of commercial enterprises on the Tocal farms that cover more than 2,200 hectares.

Although most students come from regional NSW, there are students from all across Australia, and a significant number from metropolitan areas.

There are opportunities for students to build career pathways on farms and in agribusiness as well as careers in the environmental, business, education and research sectors.

On National Ag Day 2021 Tocal College wanted to celebrate the diverse AgVentures of its ex-students. This video is made up of contributions from former students, showing where their studies have taken them. It is inspiring to see how our work touches people in many different ways.