Business Rural Summer 2021

74 | • From page 73 RURAL SERVICES » Rural Contractors New Zealand 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 chang- ing 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 collaboration 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 that’s happening now and I’m looking forward to seeing the outcomes of the deliberations of the workforce committee and what they come up with.” The development of a self-regulated accredita- tion scheme conceived and implemented by RCNZ members has enhanced professional standing with farmers, and Andrew says those members who have achieved that status are in high demand. “There’s a real desire to drive up our professional standing and I would like to think that our members can participate in a reasonably straight forward accreditation process both in the agrichemical side and the cultivation side. • To page 77 Ryan Contracting Proudly Supporting Rural Contractors NZ GM DAVIS SPRAYING CONTRACTORS LTD General Agricultural Spraying 32 and 36 Metre Spray Booms M. 027 310 2697 E. gregdavisnz@hotmail.com CAVE SPRAYING CONTRACTING LTD BRIAN 03 614 3823 • 027 274 4052 | DANIEL 03 614 3715 • 021 1477 547 Pasture and Crop Spraying • Gorse Spraying Slug Bait Appl ication RCNZ has been part of New Zealand’s primary industry landscape for just over quarter of a century.