GROW YOUR FUTURE
Grow Your Future Program: Cultivating careers for new recruits By Youna Angevin-Castro Launched in in early 2023, Grow Your Future is an NGIV initiative, supported by the Victorian Government through Jobs Victoria. The program aims to attract new job-ready workers to the horticulture industry, by combining paid training, work experience, horticulture education and mentoring support to set candidates up for long term success within the nursery and green life sector. According to Program Lead, Rachna Horn, the program has on-boarded close to 90 candidates, with many workers now permanently employed in the sector across a variety of roles.
“The whole intent of the program is to make the transition into the horticulture industry as supportive as possible, so that it’s a win-win for workers and employers alike,” Rachna said.
“The program has been well received by the industry, with a number of nurseries and other allied businesses using the program to actively recruit staff into their businesses. The pre-screening of candidates means that they can save time in filling roles, with the added benefit of knowing that the candidates receive ongoing support from the program to grow and thrive in their jobs.”
Nurturing a diverse and inclusive workforce
As part of the recruitment process, candidates receive three days of paid pre-vocational training, designed to build confidence, as well as an additional three days of introductory horticultural training, exposing them to the diversity of the industry. Incoming workers also have access to a structured mentoring program in the first six months of their engagement, which sets them up for success as they find their feet in their new roles.
Yarra View Bushland Nursery is the largest social enterprise nursery in Australia, employing approximately 85 nursery workers living with disabilities. They produce over three million plants annually, predominantly for commercial landscaping and infrastructure projects. Helping workers with disabilities to realise their full potential requires a supporting workforce with diverse skills and backgrounds – a task which has become increasingly challenging, says Yarra View’s General Manager, Scott Buckland. “For many years now, it's been difficult to attract people to the nursery sector and get them to stay and make a career of it. It can be quite a transient workforce, and over time we’ve found
NGIV’s Rachna Horn, Grow Your Future Project Lead.
Grow Your Future has been positive for Ball Australia.
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GROUNDSWELL OCTOBER 2023
