Nineteen Tenterfield High School students have learned not only how to shear a sheep but other important life skills at a shearing school supported by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI).
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The week-long school was conducted at the shearing complex at the Tenterfield Showground, by shearing contractors Karl and Mel Goodman. School ag assistant Hugh McCowen said all students over the age of 14 could participate but numbers had to limited to 19 due to the facilities available.
Several non-ag students put their hands up as well, and all learned that sheep shearing is more about technique than brute strength. Mrs Goodman said that with the right technique from the beginning, shearers can enjoy a long career without back problems.
“You’ve got to go slow to go fast,” she said.
Not that a long career in sheep shearing was necessarily the goal of the school.
“It’s a skill to add to the tool box,” Mr McCowen said.
“I know a chiropractor that put himself through uni, shearing during the breaks.
“It also builds confidence in the kids. On the first day they’re thinking ‘I can’t do that’. By the end of the week they’re shearing sheep.”
Mr Goodman said the students had been keen to work and did well. While this is the second annual shearing school that THS has participated in, Mr Goodman hopes to be back mid-year to do another, and said the schools cover a lot more than shearing sheep.
“It’s learning how to work, and how to work independently, and how to get over hurdles,” he said.
“It’s about teamwork and fitness, and a lot of things that relate back to subjects at school.
“It’s about working through a routine and communicating, coming in and saying ‘good morning’ and looking people in the eye. Those skills will help them to get a job wherever they want to go.”
The 30-year veteran of shearing said some students will go on to tertiary education but some will choose other paths, and having shearing skills up their sleeve can work to their advantage with only a few shearers left in Tenterfield.
“If they’re undecided, this can give them lots of work. After a six-month apprenticeship they can be making a good living.”
He’s happy to see AWI funding the schools, and would love to see more of it, although he stresses it’s not a quick fix to the shortage of shearers.
“How many 16-year-olds know what they want to do for the rest of their lives,” he said.
“This gives them some options, and the important thing is that they have a job.”
Mr McCowen provided the 120 first-cross ewe lambs for the haircut. Peter and Lou Holley contributed wool handling equipment and Mr McCowen thanked the Tenterfield Showground Trust and caretaker Beverley Harris for making the facility available.
Click below for more photos from the school.
