www.fica.org.nz
Prue Younger, CEO Message
Planting Season Rolls Around
Before you know it we are back into planting season again… those dark mornings are an indication that summer 2021 is just about over! Last month between FOA and FICA we put out an email survey on silviculture capacity and were very pleased with the volume of responses we received, however stats are conflicting in that Forest Growers see not much increase in plantings for 2021, have their silviculture crews engaged and recognise maybe more issues with seedling supply than anything else. Contractors are telling us that there is generally an increase in planting and that they need approximately another 280 employees to meet their targets. The disparity, we believe, is due to the fact that contractors who responded to our survey are those working for forest management companies and not corporates. It has, however, given us the information we need to support and maintain another MSD–FICA Silviculture subsidy campaign for this coming season. Last season we put through just on 280 new employees into the scheme and supported the training and workforce issues for New Zealand silviculture crews that were struggling to find themselves their full numbers. With COVID taking the country by storm, the timing was unfortunate as we headed into planting season so MSD came to our support and we thank them for their ongoing relationship with us in forestry. Out of this subsidy support came some really fantastic stories which I am going to share below. There has been overwhelming feedback from contractors highlighting their appreciation that the subsidy helped them complete their contracts.
Success for FICA Silviculture Subsidy Taking up an MSD–FICA subsidy in 2020 helped S.A.W. Forestry Contracting to find a great addition to the team while covering some of the expenses when bringing on new staff. We catch up with Director Scott and find out how the MSD–FICA subsidy has been a success for his business. Employing a total of 6 staff, Dunedin-based S.A.W. Forestry Contracting completes silviculture planting, thinning and pruning contracts in the Otago region. Working in silviculture for 28 years and as a business owner for the past 12 years, Director Scott Wilkinson says finding and keeping staff is always the biggest challenge for his business. “By far the biggest challenge you have is finding and retaining good staff,” says Scott. Just prior to the 2020 planting season, the MSD–FICA subsidy was advertised in an email from the regional silviculture trainer. 44 NZ LOGGER | April 2021
With a vacancy to fill in his crew, Scott contacted Work and Income and connected with new recruit Andrew through the WINZ work-seeker programme. Previously Andrew was working at a supermarket packing facility, but after being injured on ACC he was let go during the Covid-19 period. “Andrew had no prior forestry experience, so we were eligible for the MSD–FICA subsidy,” says Scott. “It’s really helped out with those start-up costs, setting him up with safety equipment, wet weather gear and a chainsaw, which can cost in excess of $5000. It’s also helped to cover some of those initial training costs we incur, especially where I spent a lot of time training him with the chainsaw.” Andrew says he found the work really challenging at first. “I wasn’t really up to it at the start – my fitness was a lot lower than I thought it would be. But I’ve had regular training and have got the hang of it. It’s been cool to learn new skills, especially thinning.” “The support from my employer has been really good – they pretty much sorted everything for me and helped me with getting the right gear to do the job.” Scott says the MSD–FICA subsidy has been a success, with Andrew staying on after the planting season to work in thinning and pruning as well. He’s now a skilled member of the crew. “He’s been really good and has taken on board everything I’ve said so we’ve kept him on after the subsidy ended,” he says. “It is a great thing – it’s good for encouraging you to get newbies in and get them up to speed while covering some of the cost.”
MSD–FICA Subsidy
FICA has announced that the scheme is back on and contractors can register through the website, however this year there is an incentive to join FICA and to apply for the subsidy you need to be a FICA member. We remind you that you can put forward new employees you recruit, they don’t necessarily need to be an MSD client but they must be new to the planting sector. The subsidy is available from 1 March through to 30 September and is available for pruning and thinning work too. Applications are now open for the 2021 planting season – find out more at www.fica.org.nz
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