Q & A with Rural Operations Teachers Tim and Sam

Tuesday, 17 February 2026

Are you ready to take the next step toward steady, prctical work? Consider our Rural Operations course that's designed for hands-on, practical learning whcih provides skills and knowledge to work confidently in agriculture, machinery operation, conservation, or general rural support roles.

Our marketing team had a sit-down with the teachers of Rural Operations, Sam and Tim, to talk about the course, how students can succeed, and what careers are out there for you.

Q: What is Rural Operations?

Tim: Rural Ops is a new course that's been running here at Wodonga TAFE for about 18 months, aimed at anyone that's looking to gain some valuable practical skills, [not only] for on-farm agricultural skills, but also to be trade ready. So, [students] get a qualification with lots of different tickets from things like quad bikes, side-by-side, chainsaws, all the way through to skid steers and excavators.

 

Q: So, you guys (Sam & Tim) are both teachers for Rural Operations. Why did you choose to become a teacher?

Sam: Well, I chose to be a teacher because I love to teach Agriculture. [It’s] pretty much the reason why I did [teaching]. And we offer that in a few different ways here. But the Rural Operations course for me was just a practical way of getting young and old people into our space and spreading the word about how good our agriculture is around this area.

Tim: And I think both of us coming off farms, you know, we've both grown up on farms and have a lot of lived experience in this space, that's probably why I wanted to get into teaching at Wodonga TAFE and especially in Rural Operations because it's just what I enjoy and it's just the background that we're both from.

 

Q: And I think it reflects, because I've talked to some of [your] students and they've said that you guys are pretty cool, pretty chill, pretty amazing teachers. What do you guys have to say about that one?

Sam: I think they're telling you lies. [Laughter]

Tim: I was going to say they're pretty good judges, I reckon. But no, we do try and keep it [fun]. We've both got a very similar sense of humour. It's like anything in life. If you don't enjoy it, you're not going to succeed. So, we really try to create an inclusive, positive environment for all students to learn.

Sam: It's [how] we learned.

Tim: It's how we learned.

Sam: We relate to them as best we can because, you know, I think telling them stuff about us and what we've done and giving some experience from our point of view, getting to know them and understanding them, that's probably why we have a good relationship [with the students].

 

Q: What kind of students would enjoy Rural Operations?

Tim: Well, we found that everyone that's sort of gone through it has enjoyed it to varying levels, but probably to succeed at it, our ideal student would be energetic and be pretty keen to get outside and get their hands dirty. Sam and I both have a pretty similar philosophy. We spend as little time in the classroom as possible and as much time out of the classroom doing practical tasks. So, yeah, that's the sort of student I'd be aiming for. What do you reckon, Sam?

Sam: Yeah, I think it's the same. You've got to be able to be a self-starter, I reckon. I think you've got to make sure that you know this is what you want to do.

 

Q: What kind of career pathways can the students expect?

Tim: Any sort of [work in] agricultural sector. We've had quite a few of our students go out and do harvest jobs, whether it's on a chaser bin or jump on a header or work at the silos. But then also we've had other students who completed this year that have gone on to do electrical and plumbing apprenticeships.

Sam: [Also,] the WHS (Work Health & Safety), I mean, you need that in any industry now. But the beauty of it is getting the key components to the tickets, like your operations of tractors and your skid steers and your excavators. But then for part-time people that have bought property and come in and they want to learn how to run a part-time farm as well, that sort of thing. The beauty of the course is that it readies you for all those different scenarios, whether it be go out and get an apprenticeship, or stay in the agricultural space, or if you've changed in careers and you've come and had a midlife crisis and bought a farm [chuckle], you actually know what you're doing and you can operate it.

 

Q: So, what can new students expect when they come to your class on the first day? What kind of environment?

Sam: Drill sergeant. Push ups, sit ups. [chuckle]

Tim: Yeah, pretty relaxed environment. Like we've said, minimal time in class [room]. There's always a theory component to every unit, but we want to just pass on as much practical skills as we can. And we find that after a couple of weeks, they're actually, they're people that haven't met before but they end up becoming pretty good mates like of all any age seem to fit in and that's another key focus of ours is just that social interaction and networking because that's important as what they learn really.

 

And if you're keen to learn more about the course from a student's perspective, read the testimonials of Lachlan and Hannah over at Facebook.

Applications still open for Rural Operations. Study at either our Wodonga or Shepparton campus. Learn more here. 

-

Below is a slideshow of photos of Teachers Tim & Sam and Rural Operations students Hannah and Lachlan.