Behind-the-scenes efforts are under way to find a new funding stream to train shearers and shedhands.
Agriculture industry training organistion chief executive Kevin Bryant said he was working closely with Meat and Wool New Zealand and others in the wool industry ahead of a series of meetings to try and find a replacement for the $300,000 farmers provided to fund the training of shearers and shedhands.
Meat and Wool New Zealand chairman Mike Petersen said the board's chairman, Scott Champion, would convene a meeting in the next few weeks to discuss the industry contributing to the training of shearers, woolhandlers and classers.
Those invited to attend include the Council of Wool Exporters, the New Zealand Merino Company, Woolpartners, Elders Primary Wool and shearing contractors.
The decision by farmers earlier this year no longer to pay a wool levy has had consequences, Mr Bryant said.
"The fact is farmers said no to the wool levy so we obviously lost $300,000 of Meat and Wool New Zealand contribution and that leveraged close to $1.5 million of government money which allowed us to provide subsidised training to over 1000 shearers and woolhandlers through a partnership with Tectra."
If the industry did not contribute to training, then neither would the Government, but Mr Bryant said farmers could end up paying anyway.
If the wool industry did not come up with $300,000, shearers and woolhandlers would seek to recover their training costs through the rates they charged sheep farmers, he said.
"If by May next year nothing changes and training is to continue, the only way to secure it in the absence of industry funding, is contributions through fees."
Mr Bryant said his organisation would take a lead role in trying to find a solution by talking to the wider wool industry, and the initial step in that process was discussing options with the various parties to ensure they were all thinking along similar lines.
Those in training who would not have completed their courses by next May when funding ended, have been promised that they will be able to complete their training under the current contract.
Mr Petersen described the funding collapse as "market failure", but he also said there were wider issues.
Many of those entering the shearing and woolhandling industry had the desire but not the $2000 to $3000 needed to pay for the training.
That could see the end of the flow of workers from lower socioeconomic areas such as the North Island's East Coast.
"If they had plenty of money behind them, they may not go shearing.
While they are generally prepared to work hard, they don't have the money."
Mr Petersen said while there was an element of speculation about the ending of training funding, he said the true picture would become clear once his board stopped its funding next May.