skills acTion Plan for The food and Beverage secTor - Department of ...

Transferring Learnings across the Primary Sector
The development and implementation of the Horticulture and Viticulture Seasonal Labour Strategy provides some
learnings that are relevant to the food and beverage sector and the Skills Action Plan, as illustrated in the example below.
Horticulture and Viticulture Seasonal Labour Strategy
The strategy has five objectives for implementation which correspond with the priorities identified by the food and
beverage Skills Working Group:
• Objectives addressing labour supply
• Objective 1: Providing seasonal work opportunities for New Zealanders
• Objective 2: Accessing global labour
• Objective 3: Information for Informed Management of Seasonal Labour
• Objectives addressing the management of labour
• Objective 4: Developing skilled workers
• Objective 5: Improving workplace quality and productivity
In implementing the strategy, the governance group of industry and agencies has amalgamated objective four
and five so that there are four sub-groups.
Objective three is critical for the strategy. Horticulture New Zealand, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF),
Department of Labour and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) are working on a forecasting tool that was
initially developed by BERL last year. The tool uses labour ratios and production data to estimate demand, but there
is very little helpful data available on supply.
This is particularly difficult in this sector because of the large number of illegal workers, and the seasonality of
the work which means census data may not be fully representative. Sub-group three has a project to adjust the
ratios used and check the production data region by region with industry. It will develop a means of estimating
labour supply sources and numbers. The latter will require creative research techniques and the active cooperation
of industry. Without sound numbers, the MSD and the Department of Labour have difficulty in recommending
immigration or Work and Income responses, and the governance group will not be able to influence the allocation of
education and training resource.
Developing a productive and skilled workforce is the solution needed for the annual crisis in grapes, apples and
kiwifruit industries. The fewer the numbers needed to work, the greater the chance that they can be effectively
allocated, paid well and have better career prospects. Moving to a situation with fewer more productive, and better
paid workers (current turnover approx. 300% a season) will assist in improving grower returns.
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