STUDENTS can now access job information and course advice from a new website showcasing careers in agriculture.

The Career Harvest website, launched this morning, is an online hub with the backing of industry to promote Australia's food and fibre careers.

The initiative was first mooted by the Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture and created with the support of RedHeanded Communication Group and Rimfire Resources.

It also has the backing of 30 industry supporters who have chipped in $500 to promote the site to drive traffic.

ACDA secretary Jim Pratley said the site would give potential students information about opportunities which had been identified as a gap in the past.
 
"We're hoping that we will see quite a dramatic shift in people's attitude to careers in the agricultural industries. It's about informing them of the great and diverse opportunities that exist, that people in the past have not been really aware of," he said.

"Career Harvest brings them up to speed with what opportunities there really are, not what are perceived to be."

The website comes as industry and governments around the country consider ways to address the skills shortages facing Australian agriculture.