Expressions of interest have opened for Australian potato growers and industry stakeholders to take part in a two-day training and leadership initiative in Melbourne in November, focused on improving productivity, profitability and workforce capability.

The initiative forms part of the Potato Workforce Training and Leadership Program (PT24002), a five-year program funded by Hort Innovation using the potato fresh and processing research and development levies and contributions from the Australian Government, and delivered by AUSVEG.

The program will combine a one-day Improving Productivity and Profitability of Australian Potato Enterprises workshop, delivered by agribusiness consultancy PSVC Advisory, with attendance at the 2026 Hort Business Summit. The summit, scheduled for November 20 at RMIT University Storey Hall in Melbourne, will cover issues including business benchmarking, the integration of artificial intelligence into horticultural businesses and the use of consumer retail data.

Ahead of the workshop, participants will complete two online assessments: an Enterprise Productivity Diagnostic tailored either to processing potato or fresh-market businesses, and a Workforce Capability Diagnostic.

The workshop will use the results to examine participants’ own operations and identify opportunities for productivity improvement. Participants will also complete preparatory work covering business processes, although organisers said they will not be required to provide financial data.

Areas covered by the training include labour productivity, workforce capability, operational waste, use of assets and technology, decision-making and continuous improvement.

The program is open to levy-paying potato growers and industry stakeholders, including business owners, managing directors, general managers, farm and production managers, packhouse managers and other senior operational personnel. If applications exceed the number of available places, participants will be selected against a range of criteria.

For successful applicants, the program will cover return airfares where required, two nights’ accommodation where applicable, the PSVC Advisory training session and attendance at the Hort Business Summit. Networking dinners are also scheduled for November 18 and 19.

Applications close on Friday, September 25.