Critical issues for

industry

Supply of good quality workforce who want to commit to the industry.

Retaining experienced people.

Developing opportunities for new groups of workers (e.g. Pasifika) to move into permanent supervisory positions.

Need to find different ways to work with and motivate different ethnic groups.

Impact of exchange rate.

Need for training resources and methods to suit diverse workforce.

The effect of bad pruning on the productivity of grapevines.

Labour shortages.

Employee retention/ workforce stability.

Employee motivation.

Lack of supervisory skills in some enterprises.

Infrastructure - especially housing and transport.

The changing face of the workforce (ethnic diversity).

Productivity of workforce.

Compliance with quality standard requirements.

Late harvest in 2006 resulting in high cost of quality through fruit loss at harvest.

Employee motivation and lack of "life skills".

Alcohol and drug use.

Communication issues - especially with people from non- English speaking backgrounds.

Supply of skilled workforce who choose a career in these industry sectors.

Supply of appropriate numbers of seasonal workers with basic horticulture skills and a good work ethic.

Supply of sufficient numbers of permanent workers with practical skills.

Future skill demands

Increased quality compliance requirements will drive more documentation.

Supervisors will need increased range of skills to meet needs of workforce.

Preferred pruning methods will change over time.

As vines age, pruning requirements change.

Cellphone-based camera technology beginning to be used to keep track of workers.

Quality requirements will continue to change.

Computer-based technology will increase in packhouses - grading, track and trace technology will remove some jobs.

The industry needs to develop more supervisory and leadership skills.

Changing business models lead to increasing demand for people skills e.g. move from owner operated to larger, consolidated corporate structures or small niche operator structure.

Increasing need for cross cultural understanding and communication.

Impact of technology.

Increasing requirement for business skills e.g. strategic thinking, planning, marketing, management skills.

Most important

Foundation skills

Oral comprehension of English (especially instructions).

Critical thinking to decide which fruit to pick and which part of the tree to prune.

Critical decision making during pruning process.

Speaking and listening - communication to get the job done.

English language skills for NESB people.

English language skills for NESB people.

Counting skills.

Would be useful if people could read and write better, training would be easier.

Understanding oral instructions and explanations given by growers and employers.

Making correct decisions in relation to picking and pruning.

Does the industry

understand the

importance

of foundation skills?

Not seen as a priority - other issues to consider.

Not seen as a priority.

Assume that people will have these skills.

Not really - some are starting to develop understanding of this area.

Not really - industry needs to develop a training and education culture across the horticulture sector.

Key barriers to

foundation skills

training taking

place

Urgency of work in industry - no time for additional training during peak work periods.

Who will pay for people to attend training?

Not sure seasonal workers will want foundation skills training.

Logistics of how it would take place.

Work pressure - when seasonal workers are there, the work has to be done.

Little incentive to invest in development of people who will only be with the company for a short time.

Cost of this type of training.

Employee motivation to be involved in this type of training.

Previous negative learning experiences of employees.

Harvest is a very urgent, immediate time.

Employers need to understand the benefits of any training, let alone training for seasonal workers.

How could barriers

be overcome?

Development of resources to assist with training.

Focus on developing skills of people giving training to seasonal workers.

Raise awareness of issue amongst employers.

Packhouses are a potential place for foundation skills training - needs to show bottom line benefits for company.

Identify what would motivate employers and employees to do this sort of training.

Don't try to do extra training during peak work periods.

Develop good resources to support training - simple, visual, practical resources.

Deal with other issues that impact on seasonal workforce e.g. security of employment, accommodation, transport.

Build pathways - develop foundation skills through other training such as the Kiwifruit Orchard Skills Certificate.

Train the trainers in the workplace - increase the ability of employers to do good training.

Demonstrate the cost benefit from training in these skills.

Find ways to do training around harvest requirements.

Fully fund pilot foundation skills programme to build understanding/ ownership with associated employers.

Packhouse environment most likely to be a possibility for foundation skills training.