YOUR LEVY AT WORK
CAMPAIGN ATTRACTS SCHOOL LEAVERS TO FOOD PRODUCTION INDUSTRIES Words by Hugh Chesterman
Julian Raine, from Oakland Dairies, explains how his milk vending machine works to Nelson high schoolers
More than 150 high school leavers now have a better understanding of careers in New Zealand’s food production industries, thanks to the Feed Your Future campaign. “We’re really stoked with how the Feed Your Future series has gone. We had seven events from Whangarei to Invercargill, where we took high school students to visit successful and innovative primary sector businesses,” says GoHort manager, Emma Boase, who is in charge of the national network of Career Progression Managers working to attract people to the horticulture industry.
Feed Your Future is a collaborative career promotion series involving GoHort, GoDairy, Lincoln University and Massey University to encourage high school students to pursue careers in the food production industries
14 NZGROWER : JULY 2021
Feed Your Future is a collaborative career promotion series involving GoHort, GoDairy, Lincoln University and Massey University to encourage high school students to pursue careers in the food production industries. “We had more than 40 young professionals share at the events how they got to where they are in the industry,” says Emma. “Having role models to look up to, and being able to see the different pathways to where you can be in five years, is hugely important to school leavers. For those who don’t have a background in primary industries, these events have been really eye-opening to the opportunities available. “We made sure to include students who hadn’t had experience or exposure to the primary industries, but were open to a career in the sector. We introduced them to people who had ‘been there and done that’, and could give them a taste of what it would be like working or studying in the primary industries.” Adam Shears, a Year 13 student at Mount Hutt College, found the event gave him insights into the opportunities in the industry that he otherwise wouldn’t have had.
