Shaina Berry, Agriculture Victoria Animal Health Officer

In her first year with Agriculture Victoria as an Animal Health Officer in the Ballarat region Shaina Berry has used her time to get herself trained up in a variety of areas.

Shaina says being an Authorised Officer means ongoing training to gain new skills, while at the same time learning from more experienced staff.

“I try to be a sponge absorbing their knowledge and skills through watching, asking questions and putting it into practice.”

She says by far the best part of her time so far has been working with these new colleagues, who she describes as encouraging, supportive and offering a wealth of knowledge.

“It really is a privilege to work with highly experienced and successful people who have shown me the ropes.

“We have undertaken firearms training, investigative interviewing and safety courses, along with biosecurity emergency response training – but most importantly on the job learning as we go.”

Animal Health Officers get involved in a wide range of areas including biosecurity, emergency response, animal health surveillance, traceability and animal welfare.

Through her graduate program she has had access to a learning and development budget which meant she could undertake a Certificate IV in Project Management Practice, Advanced Excel and Power BI training and will soon be completing a Wilderness First Aid course.

If you are thinking of a career in agriculture there are lots of different roles available. As Shaina says,

“If you want to have awesome colleagues and work in a positive, fostering and productive environment then Agriculture Victoria is for you! You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Find out more at agriculture.vic.gov.au?