Kelly keen on Fast Track program as new applicants called upon
Young New South Welshman Joel Kelly ditched a university degree after two years to follow his passion for racing and horses and he hasn’t looked back since his snap decision to quit higher education.
Now, the 23-year-old yearling hand at Kitchwin Hills is encouraging others to follow suit by applying for the 2021 Fast Track program, the Thoroughbred Breeders Australia (TBA)-backed scheme aimed at easing the dramatic workforce shortage currently inhibiting the industry.
“If you have the slightest interest in horses, even if it is not thoroughbreds, I 100 per cent recommend getting involved and throwing your hat in the ring because you never know where the opportunity of Fast Track is going to take you,” Kelly told ANZ Bloodstock News from Kitchwin Hills yesterday.
“Everyone knows someone and it is a good way to get started in the industry.”
When Kelly, a graduate of the 2019 Fast Track program, applied for the intensive training scheme, racing and breeding was not completely foreign to him – his parents bred and raced a “few horses for the picnic circuit” – but he admits he did not have extensive hands-on horse experience.
“I had a gap year after finishing school (in 2015) and then I went to university for two years, studying international business and language at the University of New England in Armidale, but I got two years into a four-year degree and I didn’t really like it. I didn’t think it was for me.
“From there, the Fast Track popped up on social media and, being from a small rural property, it was something that jumped out to me. Lo and behold, after the interview process, I got the gig.”
Since then, Mick Malone at Kitchwin Hills has played a pivotal role in Kelly’s fast-tracked equine education.
“It is something that came naturally the more I got into it. It started to click for me and the more I was exposed to things I wanted to keep learning and here I am,” he said.
“Mick Malone got me down to Gerald Ryan’s in July last year and I spent about three weeks with him, which was really good.
“I do like the breeding side of it, but I definitely think I am a racing man through and through, although that’s not to say I am not enjoying my time here at Kitchwin.”
Kelly also enjoyed his maiden Magic Millions sale on the Gold Coast last month where he assisted Kitchwin, a task he described as “a lot of fun”.
“Because it was my first Magic Millions, I didn’t really know what to expect. Everyone told me it was going to be pretty hectic with the amount of people coming to look at the horses, but with Covid they said it was a little bit slower than normal,” he said.
The focus on the ongoing staffing crisis plaguing the racing and breeding industry has been further highlighted by the closure of international borders, preventing access to overseas workers which are heavily relied upon by stables and studs.
“Staffing has been a massive challenge in our industry for some time now and the implications of Covid-19 on the movement of international workers has only highlighted the matter further,” TBA chief executive Tom Reilly said.
“Now more than ever, it is so important to be actively recruiting and training new people to work in our industry and that’s exactly what Fast Track does.
“As the national body we felt it was essential that we be active in this space and we’ve worked really hard to develop a program which we believe can make a material difference to the industry.”
Segenhoe Stud Australia, like Kitchwin Hills, is a prominent Hunter Valley farm which has been supportive of the program since its inception.
“Having a program that identifies the right people and takes them on a journey where in just 12 months they are ready to enter the workforce with complete competency is exactly what the industry needs. I just wish we could take more of them,” Segenhoe Stud’s Peter O’Brien said.
Middlebrook Valley Lodge’s Verna Metcalfe said: “It’s so hard to get good staff these days. The program gives them a really great grounding to come and work on a farm, on a traineeship, and learn from the ground up.
“I just love the Fast Track program.”
Fast Track is open to anyone in Australia who is 18 years and over, and previous graduates have come from all over the nation.
Applicants are required to have basic horse handling skills, but prior experience with thoroughbreds is not necessary.
Trainees have enjoyed placements on farms in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Queensland and with planning underway for their biggest intake yet, TBA is calling for farms from all states to get in contact if they are interested in taking on a trainee.
Applications close on February 28 and more information can be found via tbaus.com or by emailing careers@tbaus.com.