South Australian citrus industry leadership program, 2004 (CT04029)

This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.

What was it all about?

The 2004 Lead On Citrus Leadership Training Program successfully built on the inaugural program in 2003 by further enhancing the leadership capacity of the South Australian Citrus Industry. The South Australian Citrus Board was again pro-active in initiating this program to strategically invest in young people throughout the industry.

The program was conducted between August and December 2004 with eleven participants from South Australia and Victoria representing a range of sectors including; production, packing, processing, representative industry organisations, marketing and extension. The first session was conducted in the Riverland and the final session in Adelaide.

The intensive four month training program included two skill development sessions, industry dinners and panel sessions, together with participants undertaking an industry project with the support of a mentor. More specifically, the program facilitated the participants to increase their confidence, expand their networks, increase their industry knowledge and develop their skills to become more effective at a personal, enterprise and industry level.

The program was based on a premise that everyone had a contribution to make – it was about industry leadership rather than individual leadership.

Ten participants graduated from the Lead On Citrus program in December 2004. Graduates were presented with certificates from the The Hon. Neil Andrew, retired speaker of the House of Representatives and Carol Walker, Board Member of the Citrus Board of South Australia at the conclusion of their project presentations.

These graduates now contributed to building an industry which was characterised by its professionalism, sustainability and progressive approach.

Outcomes:

1. Graduates with increased skills, knowledge, confidence and networks to enable them to participate more effectively in their industry.
2. Graduates who have planned, designed and implemented an industry project.
3. Profiling the industry and its leadership potential to 50 industry, business and political leaders who participated in various aspects of the program.
4. The creation of a mentoring program which was contributing to a learning culture.