3 minute read
Pruning courses helping to attract workers
Winter pruning of kiwifruit is a highly skilled task which sets the orchard up for next season’s harvest. (Photo Liam Butler, Fruition Horticulture assistant horticultural consultant)
Winter pruning is a crucial aspect of kiwifruit management, setting orchards up for the next season’s harvest. But there is currently a shortage of skilled labour, which is why winter pruning taster courses have been established to attract staff.
By Elaine Fisher
Funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and facilitated by New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc (NZKGI), the courses provide an introduction to the work and are followed by a five-day training for those keen to take it further.
Di Holloway, NZKGI education coordinator, says the courses have led to jobs for many who complete the five-day training, and are also serving as a pathway to other employment within the industry. The programme began last year with MPI funding aimed at providing new opportunities for people displaced by the impact of Covid-19. The pandemic’s effects continue to be felt this year, with fewer of the highly skilled seasonal workers who have traditionally carried out winter pruning, being able to enter the country. This season’s taster courses were run by Fruition
Horticulture in Te Puke, Tauranga, Whanganui and Pukekohe.
The Whanganui course, co-ordinated by local growers Beth Lamb and Graham Wright, was attended by 30 people. “There have recently been three quite big new plantings, mainly of green kiwifruit near Waverley and Waitōtara,” says Beth. “We have proved we can successfully grow kiwifruit here, and anything we can do like the pruning course to help upskill workers is valuable,” says Graham. The couple, who own and lease a total of 12 ha of kiwifruit, made one of their orchards available for the taster course.
How it’s done – those taking part in a winter pruning taster course watch the experts at work. (Photo Liam Butler, Fruition Horticulture assistant horticultural consultant)
Di says winter pruning is a highly skilled job. “It is such a crucial part of the industry, as the difference between a good prune and bad prune affects the crop for next season. There are also differences between how green and gold orchards are pruned.” Running the courses is part of NZKGI’s labour attraction strategy and Di acknowledges that with current low unemployment figures, finding and retaining good staff is a challenge for the kiwifruit industry.
“There is not such a big disparity in payment between kiwifruit and other sectors. Skilled winter pruners can earn up to $40 an hour but it takes time to come up to the quality and speed standards that requires. Di also believes more flexibility around working hours within the industry would help tap into an under-utilised labour force. “Under-employment is a problem with some people not able to work the number of hours they would like. More flexible packhouse shifts for parents to work 9am to 3pm could encourage more people to work, and there are also high school students who could be employed for a couple of shifts a week.”
Cooperating with other seasonal industries such as manuka honey, forestry, and mussel farming, could help provide more full-time employment and variety for workers keen to be involved in the primary sector. “It is not only unskilled labour the industry needs. It is also crying out for people managers.” The kiwifruit industry’s continued growth ensures a wide variety of employment opportunities at all levels, and Di says NZKGI is keen to engage with high schools to promote horticulture as an exciting and viable career for students.
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