PROTECT
Vine to Wine Turning seasonal work into full time employment SOPHIE PREECE
A TRIO of Marlborough businesses are thinking outside the square and across the year, to help tackle seasonal labour issues. With border closures gutting traditional labour supplies, Ormond Nurseries, New Zealand Wineries and SLT have come up with a collaborative initiative that offers year-round work, via an intern scheme from vine to wine. “This collaboration will help Kiwis affected by Covid,” says Kirsty Trolove, owner of Only Human HR and Recruitment. The successful interns will work May to November at Ormond Nurseries, learning about vine propagation, before spending December to February with SLT, being trained on machinery for vineyard operations. They will then do vintage with New Zealand Wineries from March to April, learning about winemaking on the job, says Kirsty. “The idea is that they will gain skills and experience throughout the year, then return back in a higher level position the following year.” Ormond Nurseries owner Marcus Wickham says that’s a win-win for Kiwis looking for full time work, and for
“This collaboration will help Kiwis affected by Covid.” Kirsty Trolove companies who struggle to attract, train and retain workers for their busy seasons. “We can never afford to keep people doing nothing for four to five months.” The scheme will give interns an opportunity to learn a range of skills and make contacts across a range of industry sectors, while having the security of a full year’s work, he adds. For New Zealand Wineries general manager Alistair McIntosh, the intern programme will be one of many tools engaged to prepare for vintage 2021, as Covid-19 induced border closures wipe out a large portion of the typical cellar
16 / Winepress October 2020
From left, Dan Campbell, Kirsty Trolove, Alistair McIntosh and Marcus Wickham
workforce. “The problem we have with advertising now for a job that is in March is that Kiwis won’t commit. And rightly so – I wouldn’t commit either. I would be looking for a full time job first.” The vine to wine internship would give people security of consistent employment, while experiencing a broad range of wine industry work opportunities, says Dan Campbell from SLT, which uses cutting edge machinery in dozens of Marlborough vineyards. Dan started the intern conversation with Kirsty after the Alert Level 4 lockdown, knowing seasonal labour would be a headache for the wine industry while borders are closed, and recognising that Covid-related job losses were an increasing reality. “It was about giving Kiwis opportunities,” he says. The two started looking at ways of aligning businesses to address both problems at once, says Kirsty “It was about brainstorming about who we could pull in with a similar people management culture and philosophy about providing all-year round work for their different seasons.” Culture was key, because the conversation has always been helping people affected by the pandemic, as well as helping the industry, she says. “These businesses are like-minded, and this was about community spirit as well. We knew there were people getting laid off and wondered ‘how can we provide some ongoing work for them, rather than seasonal short-term solutions?’” The interns will have different contracts for each role, but there will be an understanding between the businesses regarding pay rates, sick leave and bereavement leave. “They are very open and flexible, and the result will be all the advantages of fulltime employment, with the added bonus of experiencing three different sectors of the industry,” says Kirsty. The project is evidence of what companies can do if they think outside the square, she adds. “This shows there is collaboration, and we are trying to attract Kiwis and do things differently.”
