Department of Labour Annual Report 2006

Case Study 2 - Finding workers for harvest time

Smart work and creative thinking ensures there are enough workers when seasonal produce needs to be picked, packed and processed.

Horticultural and grape growing companies around the country, and particularly in Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough and the Bay of Plenty, avoided the severe skill shortages suffered in previous years. Staff from the Department of Labour, Work and Income and the horticultural industry worked together to ensure that seasonal work opportunities were adequately promoted and that growers’ labour supply needs were met. We believe there will be an even greater need to coordinate these services in the new season.

The Horticulture and Viticulture Seasonal Labour Strategy is a partnership between government agencies and industry groups, mainly supported by the Department of Labour and Ministry of Social Development. The Strategy was launched in December 2005 and provides a framework for the horticulture and viticulture industries to develop sustainable seasonal labour.

For example, Hawke’s Bay Labour Market Knowledge Manager George Rarere spends some time working in the Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers Association Offices, helping coordinate government services, assisting with the seasonal coordinator’s tasks of placing people from the unemployment register into work, issuing IRD numbers, managing work permit applications, giving employment advice and arranging training.

George is also working with the Eastern Institute of Technology, the Regional Manager of the Tertiary Education Commission, and industry training body HortITO to help them align their training programmes and qualifications with the industry’s needs. This will ensure that workers and their managers improve their productivity. George also works with local representatives of contracting firms to improve contractor/grower work processes, ease compliance burdens and improve incentives for compliance.

Similar work by Nelson/Marlborough Labour Market Knowledge Managers Peter Hall, Bay of Plenty Regional Coordinator Asher Nikora and Otago Regional Coordinator Paul Crack is addressing the needs of growers and processors in those regions.

This will ensure that workers and their managers improve their productivity.

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