He wanted to encourage that growth, but courses through Elite were user-pays, and the cost could often be prohibitive for young people.
"We are in the process of searching for funding to help reduce the cost for trainees interested in entering the wool industry," Mr Wilson said.
"It might not be 100% of the course cost, but it may be enough to make it affordable for them."
Elite held a beginners’ wool-harvesting course at Parawa Downs, between Athol and Lowther, in Southland last month and, instead of the usual eight to 12 students, 18 people in their mid-teens to early 20s participated.
Eight of the participants were young women.
About 40% were shepherds keen to learn basic shearing skills; the rest wanted to enter the wool industry.
"It was a great uptake and it just shows the level of interest there is," Mr Wilson said.
He was also seeing more names on waiting lists for future courses.
Administration officer Kelly Macdonald said there were 354 names on the beginner course’s register of interest, and 100 of those were from Otago and Southland.
There were 232 names, including 70 from Otago and Southland, on the advanced shearing and woolhandling register of interest.
One issue to address was finding enough venues and sheep to shear to be able to run the courses.
Mr Wilson said good shearers could earn from $80,000 to $150,0000 a year gross.
"Anywhere there is wool, there is a job and the lifestyle is really good, so the sky is the limit."
Elite has also launched its own television channel, Elite Web TV, as another training tool.
It will feature interviews with established wool harvesters, including Troy Pyper, formerly of Invercargill and now of Canterbury, as the first profile.
The organisation also intended to film interviews with a woolhandler, a blade shearer and a couple of trainers.
