IT MIGHT sound cliche, but 20-year-old Riverina gal, Gabriella Morona, has a passion for all things agriculture.
And this passion and dedication to the industry she grew up with has been recognised with Gabriella winning the Australian Training Awards 2010 Australian Apprentice (Trainee) of the Year, for completing a Certificate III in Agriculture.
Taking out the title of the prestigious award came as a bit of a shock to Gab, considering she didn’t know much about the awards to begin with.
“It was a big honour to win and the course has given me great experience and recognition.”
After finishing her Higher School Certificate (HSC) at Melbourne-based boarding school, Genazzano FCJ College, where she was a boarder for Years 10, 11 and 12, Gab decided she wanted to take a gap year before starting university.
So instead of the “normal” go overseas thing, Gab went back home and worked on the family farm for the 12-months of 2009, during which time she completed her Certificate III in Agriculture through the Riverina-based Murray Mallee Training Company (MMTC).
The decision to work at home wasn’t a hard one.
“Since I was little I’ve been helping out whenever I got the chance,” she said.
“Doing the traineeship gave me nationally recognised skills, and it gave me time to realise what I really wanted to do after school.”
The family farm, “Berrima”, Deniliquin, has a history dating back to 1965, when Gab’s grandparents, Frank and Anna – who both migrated from Italy – settled there.
While the farm has expanded and is now jointly run by Gab’s grandparents, parents, Nick and Diane, and her uncle, there is a strong sense of pride in what the Morona family have achieved.
This pride shines through in Gab, who is currently studying a Bachelor of Agriculture Economics at Sydney University, majoring in economics and finance.
“I chose economics because I want to learn a lot more about business before I come home.”
While her parents would love for her to work on the property, Diane said she wanted Gab to go out and live and learn as much as possible before making that choice.
However, Diane said during the 12-months Gab was on the farm, she brought a lot of youth, enthusiasm and ideas back to the property which produces rice, sheep, and cereal crops.
Gab credits the traineeship for helping her understand “what agriculture is really about”.
“When I was younger and came home from school I helped out with the fun stuff, but working on the farm for the whole year made me understand it much better.”
Nominated for the training award by her MMTC trainer, Dave Van Beusichem, Gab experienced a whirlwind tour of interviews, award ceremonies and meetings after being announced the Riverina Trainee of the Year in July, then onto the NSW Trainee in September, and then the national winner in November.
Both Diane and Nick (pictured with Gab inspecting rice on their family’s property) couldn’t be more proud of their daughter’s achievements.
And to prove she truly is a country girl, Nick said the day after the awards ceremony in Sydney, where Gab was dressed in an evening gown, they rushed home to continue harvesting, which ended in Gab sleeping under the stars covered in dust.
Now the ambassador for vocational training for the Department of Education and Training, Gab has another busy 12 months ahead of her, attending functions and helping to get the word out about the positives of completing a traineeship.
“With our current skills shortage, especially in the agriculture industry, it is important for school leavers to understand traineeships are not inferior to university.”
“In primary industries alone there are more than 50 different traineeships offered.”
Designed to get trainees to experience every aspect of an industry, Gab’s course was tailored towards the enterprises they ran on-farm, with a lot of the work focused on one of her greatest passions – rice.
With the uncertainty facing the Australian rice industry at the moment due to the proposed takeover by Ebro Foods and the MDBA draft plan, Gab is throwing her support behind the industry.
“Rice is a family crop, and I want the industry to still be around when I am ready to come back.”
Nominations for the 2011 Training Awards are now open. Visit www.training.nsw.gov.au
