SPECIAL REPORT | DAIRY CAREERS
Kiwis seeking rural training
M Words by: Anne Lee
ore than 1000 people have registered their interest in a rural retraining programme being run in the South Island that’s aimed at getting Kiwis employed out on farms and in the wider rural sector. It’s being run in conjunction with NZ Dairy Careers, Agri Training and Agstaff at Ag Training’s South Island training facility. NZ Dairy Careers project manager Trina Moore says the response from right across the country has been amazing. “It’s been fantastic seeing people who’ve never had anything to do with the rural sector really get excited about it and in particular excited about dairying. “We’ve asked people who’ve come on our courses what area of agriculture they’re most interested in and at the start of the course only 22% have mentioned dairying but by the end of the course that’s changed to 60%. “And that’s where they’re going
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– we’re placing people in jobs and they’re loving it.” Before Covid-19 hit, NZ Dairy Careers worked mostly with young Irish and other overseas people keen to come to New Zealand and experience Kiwi farming. “With border restrictions we couldn’t bring international workers into New Zealand, creating even greater need for local people to work in primary industries. “At the same time Kiwis were losing their jobs - and still are. They knew there were jobs out on farms but they don’t have any experience and coming from cities it’s such as huge career change, they just don’t know where to start. “They don’t really know if it’s going to be for them either. “So our three companies came together and looked at what we could do to give them taste of farming life and, if they were interested and able to go the next step, give them enough training so they could step into a job.” Trina says people have registered their interest and completed a 20 hour online webinar course. It introduces them to rural life with a range of speakers – both rural
Course ‘lit the fire’
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athan Eggleton has been driving tourist buses in and out of Fiordland for the past five years, but Covid-19 put a stop to that. “I thought I’d have a go at a rural contracting course but then this advert came up on FaceBook for the Rural Retrain course and I thought I’d give it a go to get a good overview of farming. “They were the ones who lit the fire for me when it came to dairying. I hadn’t even thought of it. “I was like a duck out of water a bit on the 13-day course, but I loved it. I learned so much and like the sound of the cut and thrust of dairying – the opportunities, the systems.” He followed the course up with a six-week rural contractors’ course but came to the realisation that dairying might be a better fit. He contacted the NZ Dairy Careers team and they quickly found him a job that he’s loving on a 1000-cow farm. “I know they have my back and I’m totally immersed in this. I was like a possum in the headlights to start with – so much to learn every day – but I can see you could move up pretty quickly.”
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2020
