SWNZ Strengthens People Pillar for Global Markets
With ethical employment practices a "hot topic" in key markets, Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) is strengthening its People Pillar.
Four years ago, Sharon and Wayne George decided they would quit the corporate rat-race to travel New Zealand in their nine-metre motorhome.
They hit the road in late 2018, intending to travel and pick up seasonal work such as fruit picking along the way.
But it wasn’t as easy as they thought, and they came across many others in the same boat, typically ‘grey nomads’ and tourists looking for seasonal work, income and somewhere to park the motorhome.
The Georges came up with a solution: Seasonal Staff NZ (SSNZ), a website-based business that helps would-be workers find jobs and employers to advertise for workers.
SSNZ is a membership-based firm with a database that brings both parties together via an interactive map accessed on the website. Blue pins indicate workers, green pins show where the jobs are.
Workers can look for jobs as they travel. Employers can see where workers are located, and the site’s software enables the employers to sort the workers by experience, skills and attributes, or by potential start dates.
Would-be workers can look for jobs without focussing solely on pay rates, and they can note other possible benefits, eg accommodation available, powered parking for motorhomes or camper vans, kitchen/bathroom facilities and wi-fi connections. This means hourly pay rates are not the ‘main thing’ in employers’ quests for good staff.
Businesses typically know their peak staffing numbers, so they can plan and advertise jobs in advance, showing opportunities by location.
SSNZ’s annual employer membership fee is $199 + GST per year/per location for businesses looking for 1-50 staff. (Other job boards typically offer only 30 days advertising.)
Signing up to a benchmarking tool is not about competition, but about improving collectively, says Ximena Puig and Alvaro Luzardo who are 50-50 sharemilkers at a 164-hectare (effective) dairy farm in Eketāhuna in the Lower North Island.
A leading British farming politician says he's impressed with the positive attitude of New Zealand farmers that he met during his recent trip here.
OPINION: With 10,500 dairy farms, New Zealand continues to punch above its weight around the world.
The Southern Dairy Hub (SDH), which runs a demonstration farm for South Island farmers, has a new general manager.
Esther Guy-Meakin has been announced as the new chief executive of the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB).
According to a progress report on the Aotearoa Horticulture Action Plan (AHAP), New Zealand's horticulture sector is making real progress on the big issues facing growers.