www.guardianONLINE.co.nz
DJOKOVIC SURVIVES HUGE CHALLENGE AT OPEN P9
THE VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY 24/7
SKIDS KIDS HAVING A HOLIDAY BALL P2
Guardian
Ashburton
www.guardianONLINE.co.nz
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
FIRST PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 27, 1879
Home delivered from
90c Casual $1.20
Vacancies Hayley’s desperate to find employment running at record highs By Sue Newman If you’re looking for work in the Ashburton District then you’re spoilt for choice. With job vacancies running at record highs, the range of jobs on offer across the district indicates many employers are looking at boosting numbers on their payrolls this year. And that’s been confirmed by Personnel Placements director Wendy Robertson who says this year is showing every sign of being the most buoyant she’s experienced in her 13 years in business. Mrs Robertson said she has jobs on offer across virtually every employment category and in some cases those jobs run into multiples. “We’ve got everything from casual part-time positions through to middle management; we’ve really hit the ground running this year.” She believes the big job surge reflects confidence from employers who are looking for good staff across all categories. And it’s not just in the trades sector that staff are hard to find; many employers are having to wait several weeks to find the person they’re looking for, Mrs Robertson said. Aware that they might not find the staff they needed immediately, some were looking for people as work was beginning to build up
rather than waiting until the need was there, Mrs Robertson said. “Confidence is up and many of our businesses are still growing, they’re getting stronger and there’s more work out there. I always think Ashburton exists in a bit of a bubble with so many employment sectors feeding in to our economy.” The job vacancies were balanced by a reasonably high number of job seekers, but Mrs Robertson said employers were now adopting the approach that they were prepared to wait for the right staff rather than to simply fill a vacancy. “This year looks as though it could be the best we’ve had and we’ve got to a point where we need more staff ourselves, too.” On-line job site Trademe has a massive 82 jobs listed for Ashburton. All but two of these have been put on-line since January 3. And like the jobs on offer at other agencies, these cover a wide range from labouring and dairy farm positions to engineers, planners and veterinarians. There are multiple positions for people with trades qualifications, particularly mechanics and engineers. There were 32 situations vacant advertisements in Saturday’s Guardian, again over a range of job categories.
Determined to work, Hayley Court checks for vacancies. By Michelle Nelson Hayley Court wants a job. She is sociable, well-presented, reliable, has her own transport and excellent references. She is computer literate, but happy to do the cleaning, dishwashing and general tasks others might baulk at. She held her last position for seven years, and was only made redundant when the bakery business was sold and relocated out of the district in December. Ms Court doesn’t see her disability as an impediment to working. However, despite Mid Canterbury employers pleading a worker shortage, she has not been able to find
a job. She spends six hours a week with her community support worker Debbie Cabout, searching for positions. Together they have updated Ms Court’s resume. As well as enhancing her work prospects, this provides her with much needed social contact. “I really liked going to work, now I just stay home most days,” Ms Court said. “Mum is away at work all day.” “At the moment I get a Work and Income benefit but I would rather work.” But her ability to compete on a level playing field could soon escalate with the introduction of UK-style work ability assessments for the disabled. Leading disability service and
Photo Kirsty Graham 210113-kg-039
advocacy organisation CCS Disability Action has called on the Government to shelve the proposals, set to be implemented in a welfare shakeup which will see the invalid’s benefit replaced by a supported living payment later this year. David Matthews, chief executive of CCS Disability Action, has reservations. He understands the tests will be based on testing systems developed in the United Kingdom, and carried out by contracted providers. “We support the use of appropriate tests designed to find out what assistance and support each person needs to obtain employment. However, we have grave concerns about the UK-style assessments,”
Mr Matthews said. “Despite the rhetoric about focusing on people’s abilities, these tests have proven to be medical model based checklists, often administered by people with little real knowledge of disability. “The complex social and economic factors that govern people’s access to employment are deemed unimportant in these tests which are characterised by asking meaningless questions about the person’s ability to hold a half kilogram of weight.” Ashburton CCS service co-ordinator Judy Fielder is right behind Mr Matthews. She sees the prospect of the tests as another form of discrimination. “You wouldn’t ask anybody else
such meaningless questions,” she said. “There shouldn’t be any barriers for people who have a disability. “The focus will be on one test, and the medical model implies that people are sick – not on utilising their skills. You can’t put people’s skill into boxes. It also fails to account for fluctuating condition. “We need to be treating people as people and focus on what they can do, rather than what they can’t.” As for Ms Court’s job hunt, prospective employers can contact the Ashburton branch of CCS Disability Action on 308-4456, to discuss her skills, and the training and support available to get her back to work. There are a number of other people on the service’s books, why not find out what they have to offer.
High failure rate proves full licence test a tough hurdle to clear By Myles Hume More than half of Ashburton drivers sitting practical licence tests are failing on their first attempt. Following the revelation that only 46 per cent of learner driver are passing their restricted licence tests, figures obtained by the Guardian also show that 47 per cent of restricted drivers in Ashburton are passing their full licence tests. The low pass rate has coincided
with changes to the licence testing system in February last year, when the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) introduced more rigorous testing to lift the quality of drivers on New Zealand roads. “The reasons for toughening up the full test are the same as for making the restricted licence test more challenging,” NZTA driver training and testing standards principal advisor Jim Furneaux said. “We were doing drivers no favours with a once over lightly approach.”
Local driving instructor Denise Farr, of Safer By Far driving school, blames the low pass rate on a lack of driver education as drivers continue to under estimate the preparation required before they sit the test. While a lot of the focus has been on the tougher restricted licence test, drivers are also tripping up on the full licence test which has been shortened in length. Ms Farr said there was a perception that the full licence test would be easier due to the beef-
ing up of the restricted test, but that was not the case, noting the pass rate had dropped significantly. Figures show the full licence pass rate in Ashburton was 87 per cent in 2010 and 78 per cent in 2011, well above the current rate of 47 per cent. Ms Farr has seen an influx of foreign drivers training at her driving school, many of whom who have failed to obtain their full licence test on the first attempt. With many immigrants moving into the dairy sector in Mid
BUFFALO/HB4288
We’re officially New Zealand’s newest bank. Call 0800 227 227 Or visit your local branch.
Canterbury, she said she was not surprised at the low pass rate as many hoped to claim a New Zealand driver’s licence, confident of their driving ability. “There are a lot of people from other ethnicities and backgrounds that are adding to these stats,” Ms Farr said. “A lot of them probably don’t know much about the test and much about New Zealand roads.” Although the pass rates for both licences was still below 50 per cent, Mr Furneaux said NZTA expects the pass rates to improve.
With roots stretching back to 1875, Heartland has a proud history of supporting small-to-medium sized businesses, farms and families in Canterbury. It’s great to offer the people of Ashburton a local banking option that is 100% for New Zealand.
There’s a lot more work and effort involved in gaining your full licence.
Today’s weather 6 Months
4.40
Interest paid quarterly.
*IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Minimum term deposit investment $1,000. Interest rates subject to change. The current Heartland Building Society (Heartland) Disclosure Statement and Term Deposits Investment Statement are available at any Heartland branch, at www.heartland.co.nz or by calling 0800 227 227.
12 Months
4.65
Interest paid quarterly.
HIGH LOW
26
14