|Index|Introduction|Key Information|Welcome|Register|Programme|Workshop streams|

Skills & talents 3: primarily primary

Key points

• The horticultural sector is critical to the local Hawke's Bay economy, however the industry is plagued by labour shortages.
• The cyclical nature of the horticulture and viticulture industries gives rise to a shortage of seasonal workers at harvest time. Seasonal fruit picking has an extremely efficient labour market, with workers moving between jobs with great speed and flexibility. The industry also has a public perception of bad employment practices and rogue contractors. Pay is low and normally on piece rates. A lack of day to day certainty of labour supply means that growers are often forced to employ contractors who may use illegal workers to fill labour gaps.
• In January 2005, WINZ launched the Pick NZ website which aims to link prospective seasonal workers with fruit growers. The pilot season of 2004/2005 provided information on the Hawke's Bay region only, however in the future it will be nationwide.
• Local growers compete for a global pool of seasonal workers, and through the website growers can market themselves as official industries with reputable employment opportunities.
• This labour pool is declining however, and the challenge for the industry is to increase production per labour unit. A key issue that growers face, despite the usefulness of the website is that they may not actually offer work over the site, as travellers need to have a work permit to receive employment. This is another limitation on certainty of labour supply for growers, and it needs to be overcome.
• A lack of information about labour in the primary sector exists. A strategy is required to develop the market sustainably to meet a long term vision to allow continuity in the market.
• Tertiary educations have a role to play in bridging the worker skills gap that is present in primary industries by working with regional providers to develop strategies.
• The horticulture cadet programme is an example of developing a career pathway for what is normally a temporary position. This helps workers build a commitment to horticultural work, and increases the pool of skilled workers available to growers year on year.
• Another example is the development of a qualifications scheme for the road transport industry, which focuses on developing a pathway for the worker through the achievement of skills learnt on the course.
• The optimum way for these schemes to be run is for education institutions to listen to industries before creating specific courses, and to develop training programmes in partnership with industry. A future focus is also important.
• Central Otago is another area facing severe seasonal labour shortages. One of the reasons for this is the current low unemployment rates across the nation. The Central Employment Trust has come up with some key ideas to apply to the problem. These include providing a service to workers that includes helping them with accommodation and support, and providing a one stop shop for advice and information on seasonal work. A key part of the solution is providing local solutions for local problems.
• A key challenge seen to be facing the horticultural industry is the need for players to work together and organise themselves to better manage the supply and demand of labour. Above all there is the need to introduce continuity into the industry in terms of a certainty of labour supply from year to year.
  Possible initiatives such as creating career pathways for workers and organising large clumps of labour co-operatively within the industry may help decrease the risk felt by both growers and workers.