WA shearing teams look for new ways to make ends meet

The program is designed to retain shearing contractors and their teams in regional Western Australia. (ABC Great Southern: Kate Forrester) A new training program has been launched to help strengthen employment stability across the shearing industry. Since the announcement of the live sheep export ban by sea, shearing flocks have declined, forcing workers to find other ways to make ends meet. The industry-led program hopes other states take it on as well. Link copiedShareShare articleIn the Western Australian town of Jerramungup, 450 kilometres south east of Perth, local shearing contractor Dael Parnell is spending her Tuesday afternoon far from the shearing sheds. Instead of coordinating her shearing team, Ms Parnell is on the netball court teaching the next generation of local players the skills of the game. Dael Parnell is a shearing contractor and wool classer from Jerramungup, but also coaches the town's junior netball team. (ABC Great Southern: Kate Forrester) "I coach the 'Net,Set,Go' kids, from 6 to 9 years old, I teach them how to play netball right from the beginning," Ms Parnell said. Volunteering at the local sporting club is one of the many ways Ms Parnell and her team give back to the community she has called home for years. "For me, we employ anywhere between 10 to 20 workers at a time. They make their money in the area, and they spend it in town." Dael Parnell says she wants to keep her shearing team employed locally so they can continue living and working in the community. (ABC Great Southern: Kate Forrester) With the end of live sheep exports by sea starting in May 2028, Ms Parnell is concerned about shearers leaving the agricultural town, leaving fewer people to fill important volunteer roles. "Twenty-one years ago, when I started in the industry, we had four weeks a year as our downtime; now we have four months that we don't have any shearing, so we need to find work for our employees to fill that," she said. Western Australia's sheep flock has continued to decline in recent years. (Supplied: DPIRD) As a direct response to the phase-out of live sheep exports by sea, the federal government committed about $140 million to help the industry adapt to the legislative changes. More than $2 million of that funding helped to establish the Beyond the Shed program, designed by the WA Shearing Industry Association (WASIA). The initiative aims to keep skilled workers in regional communities by creating alternative employment pathways, reducing the need for shearers and shed hands to move away in search of work. The Beyond the Shed program was designed to help shearing teams complete training in other agricultural fields. (ABC Great Southern: Kate Forrester) Beyond the Shed training coordinator Tiffany Davey used to work on vessels and has been personally affected by the ban announcement. She said that despite the training being funded by the federal government, it was an industry-driven program. "A group of contractors sat down and came up with this program; they were trying to be as proactive as they could be," Ms Davey said. Tiffany Davey is the training coordinator for the Beyond the Shed program. (ABC Great Southern: Kate Forrester) "Shearing crews receive training in areas that have been identified to have skill gaps, so, for example, upskilling shearers in seeding work, maybe as baristas, tree planters." Other training opportunities included fencing, heavy vehicle licenses, chainsaw tickets and first aid. "Some of these guys and girls have been shearing for over 30 years, and it takes guts to learn a new skill after all those years," she said. There are a number of various training opportunities open for shearing teams across Western Australia. (ABC Great Southern: Kate Forrester) Since the program was launched in January 2026, more than 90 shed workers and 29 shearing contractors have signed up. Ms Parnell's team is among those taking part, although she said some workers were initially hesitant to get involved. "A lot of my staff have never been in this position; shearing has always been there, and they don't have the confidence to try something else," Ms Parnell said. Shearers were able to learn how to drive a tractor to assist with seeding programs. (ABC Great Southern: Kate Forrester) Having worked in the shearing industry since he was a teenager, WASIA president Darren Spencer said the program drew on ideas he had seen prove successful in the past. "When I first started contracting, I would drive tractors, help with mulesing, but it became less and less when farmers looked to backpackers and international workers," Mr Spencer said. "That's changing now, so if we have a ready workforce living in our communities, it's a matter of using those resources which are already there," he said. "I've met with Shire presidents from across WA, and they were all very keen on the idea of this." Darren Spencer hopes the program will help secure longer-term employment oppo

WA shearing teams look for new ways to make ends meet

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