GoHort Northland Expo attracts hundreds

T&G staff presented their Freshworx campaign at the Expo

Industry event unites Northland growers to tackle labour issues

By Hugh Chesterman : Communications & Events Assistant, HortNZ

A common theme at the GoHort Northland Expo was that people are our most valuable asset. The Expo attracted more than 200 growers, industry leaders, potential employees and government representatives. (See sidebar.)

“We can’t grow our business without people,” said Mapua Avocados general manager, Ian Broadhurst. “Our business will be harvesting about one million trays of avocados each year when our plants reach maturity. People are our key asset: without them this can’t happen. “We’ve got to employ locals because we can’t rely on labour coming in from outside the area. We’ve got a great opportunity to hire locals and currently employ more than 40 full-time. On top of that, we’re going to need an additional 70 people. “We’re offering training incentives and supporting our staff to seek additional qualifications. When they achieve these qualifications, we increase their pay and offer promotions so that our staff can see the career pathway ahead of them. People in our community can see how committed we are to our people, especially when they see their whānau progressing on this pathway,” Ian said. Mapua is not alone with rolling out training incentives. Orangewood HR manager Ingrid Edmonds said a similar pay incentive scheme rewards their staff when they complete additional training. “We have five of our younger employees who are currently completing a post-harvest apprenticeship, and a further 13 completing Level 2 qualifications through Primary ITO. “We identified these five apprentices when they started, as good people with a lot of promise that we want to keep.

They’re all doing really well and have chosen training modules which suit their interests and career goals. “When you find good people, you need to hold onto them. At Orangewood, every position in our business is going to double, meaning we need a lot more staff in coming years. Our staff know this, and can see that we are serious about promotions and the career opportunities we talk about. “We ask our staff ‘whose job would you like to be doing?’ and then give them a pathway to get to where they want, and give them the training and promotions they need,” Ingrid said. Focusing on providing life skills as well as professional qualifications to their staff, Tokotoko Solutions presented their holistic approach to supporting locals. Their unique approach combines life skills, pre-job training and ongoing seasonal work to provide both full-time work and personal growth opportunities to locals. Connecting the various seasonal labour demand peaks in the region, Tokotoko Solutions makes use of the downtime between peaks for further training. By filling these employment gaps, they are able to turn seasonal work into sustainable permanent jobs with career growth opportunities. Tokotoko Solutions director Isopo Samu (Samu) said that by partnering with growers, this format works towards their goal of redefining seasonal jobs as permanent work, providing greater certainty to both employers and their community. “There are so many opportunities to link together these seasonal peaks and look after our people in a way that they don’t want to leave the industry,” Samu said. “When we map out the labour needs of an orchard, they might say they need five people for a harvest season. Instead, we give them 10, meaning that we’re able to create a four-day-on, four-day-off roster which minimises attrition rates and creates time for study and learning. “We also plan with orchards or farms what roles they are going to need six months down the line. Knowing this, we can train our staff up so when those roles are needed, they already have the qualifications they need to do the job.” Samu said that what is often missing in the process of hiring locals is the preparation before they start work. “One of the problems historically encountered when hiring locals is that people aren’t being properly prepared. We’re working to change that. “Not having base skills like having reliable transport, showing up to meetings on time and having daily routines before starting work leads to high attrition rates and people not wanting to return to the industry. We make sure to teach key personal skills like these before we start with job training, so our people know what to expect when they start.

Ian Broadhurst, General Manager of Mapua

The GoHort Northland Expo on Wednesday 9 December 2020 drew a crowd of more than 200 to find out more about careers in the industry. Organised by GoHort career progression manager Maria Fatholahi, in collaboration with local Ministry of Social Development and Ministry of Education representatives, the Kerikeri event brought together growers, packhouses, product groups, industry bodies and training providers to discuss the labour needs for the region, opportunities of hiring locals and career pathways within industry. Split in two halves, the morning session of the event catered to industry and focused discussion around how to attract and retain locals in permanent and seasonal roles. The latter half of the expo was centred around job-seekers with a ‘speed-dating’ recruitment format.

Hiring locals first, supporting them, and providing career opportunities is a win-win for employers and the community

“Hiring locals first, supporting them, and providing career opportunities is a win-win for employers and the community. It creates a better workforce and a community that will support the industry in return. “There’s so much opportunity in hiring locals for seasonal roles, we just need to shift our attitudes and perspectives to seasonal work,” Samu said.

The 'Speedmeet' saw more than 200 through the doors at the Kerikeri expo

SPEEDMEET SEES HUNDREDS THROUGH THE DOORS AND JOBS FILLED

Taking place in the afternoon of the GoHort Northland Expo, the ‘Speedmeet’ matched local employers with job seekers in a ‘speed-dating’ format. More than 200 people attended the session, with many jobs being offered to keen candidates. At the Speedmeet interested candidates had rapid meetings with employers to find out more about job offerings, and if interested, registered with the employer or ‘matched’ with each other using the Ministry of Social Development app. Job seekers found the event invaluable, with some travelling from as far away as Auckland to attend. One of the job seekers, Dylan Holdaway, said the opportunity to have all of the industry together in one room with many jobs available was a big drawcard. “This event has been so valuable to be able to make heaps of connections with businesses,” Dylan said. “Meeting people and making connections with businesses is normally a hard process when you’re just one person, but it’s been amazing to bring them all together.” Employers were also fans of the new expo and were impressed with the turnout. T&G Fresh labour and compliance manager,

Richard Lenton, said they had a lot of interest from locals wanting to know about their available opportunities. “We were rapt with the turnout,” Richard said. “The afternoon session had a huge number of people through. What was impressive was the diverse demographic of locals who were interested in the industry, with everyone from school leavers to even some retirees. There were people totally new to the industry as well as returning seasonal workers.

“We were able to register a lot of interest on the day and invite people to our blueberry open day the following day. There were a lot of people that we’d met at the expo who showed up and have helped. We’ve been able to fill all our blueberry harvest positions. Having just launched their Freshworx campaign to promote their seasonal roles, Richard said that T&G is investing huge resources into attracting Kiwis into the industry and offering career growth opportunities. “We want to show the people in our community that the industry is full of vibrant career options that can take you anywhere, which can all start through a seasonal role.”