Last week we updated growers on the work Summerfruit NZ is carrying out with various government departments and local government agencies on the seasonal workforce challenges for the coming season. We will continue to provide updates on all developments as they come on line so you know this work is ongoing. As a reminder, here's some of the areas we are working on.
Job website
Work the Seasons is the designated website for the summerfruit industry to advertise vacancies in orchards and packhouses across the regions. As Work the Seasons is the website used by RSE employers it made sense that we work with the Ministry of Social Development to relaunch the horticultural webpage to attract employers and potential employees to a single seasonal job website.
Coordinated publicity
We are partnering with Go Hort, Ministry for Primary Industries, Ministry of Social Development, Central Otago District Council and others to coordinate messaging to ensure we work collaboratively and efficiently. Our campaign will be introduced into the public sphere in the next few weeks, and we will keep you informed so you know when and where it's happening.
Workforce
This season's workers have been identified as coming from at least six sources. Communicating with each cohort or group of potential workers needs to be targeted to ensure the right cohorts are reached with the right message. For example, there are:
- student expos
- pop-up job shops
- local work expos
- motor home shows
being held in the next few weeks. It's not one size fits all here and our industry is just one of many employers trying to attract a seasonal workforce.
Accommodation
As the Work the Seasons website is further developed to the next phase, links to regional pages will contain information on each region, its attractions and accommodation options available – where possible.
Transport
One of the barriers to working in the growing regions for some people is their ability to move between where they are staying and where they are working. There is a working group looking into transport options including providing transport between Queenstown (where there is a large group of unemployed working holiday visa holders) and orchards/packhouses.
Incentives
Keeping the seasonal crew on board until the end of the harvest can be difficult. With that in mind work is ongoing to retain those people who stay until the work ends.