Business Rural North Summer 2021

38 | Encouraging a longer-term view to RCNZ has been part of New Zealand’s primary industry landscape for just over quarter of a century. Rural contractors are increasingly using technology, including a new app - HanzonJobs - which records trainees activities as part of their development (below). Richard Loader W hen Andrew Olsen took the newly estab- lished full time role of CEO for Rural Con- tractors New Zealand (RCNZ) he says he arrived during a perfect storm. But he says the timing was also the perfect opportunity to add to the work already in place to meet the current challenges faced by rural contrac- tors. Representing 650 members throughout New Zealand in both cultivation and agrichemical contracting RCNZ has been part of New Zealand’s primary industry landscape for just over quarter of a century. Andrew says the two main challenges currently facing rural contractors are immigration settings and the expert global workforce that will be needed for a few years to come. “We have started conversations through a com- mittee formed by Government to take submissions on the workforce in the wider primary industry. That will see a lot more collaborative effort and working groups formed that span the primary sector, looking at how to improve things for next year. If you expect that a farmer, a dairy worker or a rural contractor is going to be an immigration officer in their spare time and fill out thousands of forms correctly first time, every time for all the overseas workers they need to bring in, you are kidding your self. We know that this massive iceberg is sitting right in the way of the success of many businesses, including farmers, because farmers need contrac- tors, so we have to get that setting right.” Encouraging a longer-term view to attract the re- tention and training of local talent, in Andrew’s view it is a primary industry workforce plan that has to be supported by central Government to supplement MPI’s good work, with MPI taking the lead role. “It needs a join-up of a whole primary workforce project and to be really successful you need to get the school curriculum involved and determine what that looks like in terms of school to rural work. The Tertiary Education Commission showed that irrespective of ethnicity or gender, at primary school the job kids listed as number nine was farmer. By the time they leave school or make a decision about a career that was no longer the case, and there’s a whole bunch of reason for that including the changing landscape between rural and urban and what people think a good career is.” Andrew says the seasonal nature of contracting is a barrier for people entering the industry, but col- laboration throughout the primary sector provides a pathway for multi-skilling and the interchange of workers. “If you can get a stronger and more resilient base by doing that, then you probably start to take pressure off the specialist activity. A more joined up approach to the whole primary sector workforce, seems to be a real opportunity. That’s a discussion RURAL PEOPLE » Rural Contractors New Zealand Make life easy, use BirchContractors for: • Direct drilling grass seed • Cultivating • Paddock topping • Mole drainage li , : BIRCH CONTRACTORS LIMITED birchenallpaul@gmail.com 021 230 5612 birc n . Hay • Baleage • Fencing Spraying • Seed Drilling 0211169226 andy@kiwibale.co.nz www.kiwibale.co.nz Kaukapakapa, Auckland Hay Raking Silage Cutting Truck Deliveries R&B Litchfield Ltd Proud to be associatedwith Rural Contractors NZ Phone Ray 0274 727 538