Waikato Federated Farmers provincial president Chris Lewis says the Waikato Farm Capability Society (WFCS) will support both farm staff and employers from pre-employment right through to progression in the industry for three years.
It’s an incorporated society with charitable trust status and farmers will pay a nominal fee to become members, as well as fees depending on the level of service they use.
Farmers will make up the board and set the finer detail of what the society will offer and how it will operate, allowing it to be tailored to the needs of the region.
The society employs the farm staff who are then placed on members’ farms in what are likely to be junior roles with the aim of training them and helping them progress.
The society holds the employment contract and takes on some of the human resource compliance requirements but supports and monitors the farmer to ensure standards are being met by them too.
A contracted administrator manages the process and also links with other providers to give professional and pastoral care ensuring the staff member receives the support and training they need.
While the focus is currently on dairying the societies are also set up to be able to include sheep and beef and arable farming.
Lewis started out as a farm cadet himself. His parents were only happy to let him go farming if he was supported by the scheme. He says in developing the concept of the farm capability societies, the scheme was reviewed.
“We looked at what worked well and what didn’t and then aimed to incorporate the good parts into a modern scheme that’s run by a trust with farmers themselves owning it,” he says.
Chris Lewis – with echoes of the old farm cadet schemes, the employment societies will support both farm staff and employers from pre-employment right through to progression in the industry for three years.
Lewis says the society will link in with high schools, several of which have their own farms, as well as training providers such as PrimaryITO and Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre.
“We’ll make sure any staff we place on a farm are trained to a specific standard so the farmer knows they’ll be able to do the basics to a standardised level and anyone employed through the society will have a minimum set of skills.”
School leavers, career changers and unemployed New Zealanders who want to work on farms and are committed to training will be the most likely candidates as prospective employees.
International staff will be part of the programme and employed to fill vacancies otherwise unable to be filled by Kiwis.
They too will receive standardised training and continuing pastoral care once placed on farms.
Lewis says WFCS has been launched now to give farmers plenty of time to find out more about it and make decisions on being involved well before the traditional period for recruitment early next year.
He warns while WFCS will do the recruitment, set up the employment contract and look after other employment requirements including help with health and safety, it’s not designed to give poor employers an easy out.
“We know people will be at varying levels when it comes to their HR skills,” he says.
“What we expect from anyone joining is that they’re committed to improvement. We want people who want to learn, want to be employers of choice.”
In that way both employees and farmers will get coaching.
“There are a good number of people interested and I think when it’s up and running successfully it’ll show people that farmers do really care about their staff and they do want to get Kiwis on farms.”
It’s also likely to appeal to parents of young people at school or school leavers. It will give them confidence, if their teen shows an interest in farming, that they’re going into the farming workforce being supported and cared for.
The concept has been developed and piloted in Canterbury over the past 18 months.
The Canterbury Farming Capability Society (CFCS) was established as the result of an industry-wide collaboration that includes Federated Farmers, DairyNZ, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, NZ Dairy Careers, training institutions and economic development agencies including Grow Mid-Canterbury.
It’s the initial project under the Government’s sector workforce engagement project.
Grow Mid-Canterbury chief executive and NZ Dairy Careers director Rob Brawley has been involved in setting up both WFCS and CFCS and says CFCS already has 29 farmer members despite the low payout environment reducing staff turnover.
Moving between farms
Because the society is the employer farm staff can move between society members’ farms at peak periods, which benefits the farmer members as well as the farm staff who get exposure to a wider range of systems and further training opportunities.
The system effectively creates a greater number of progression opportunities for farm staff.
If they’re ready to move up to a herd manager role and one isn’t available on the farm they’re working on they might be able to move to another member’s farm where there is a vacancy.
The society would then ensure they’re replaced on the first farm with a suitable employee.
Brawley says although the society employs the staff member the farmer pays the wages directly to the staff member on behalf of the society.
The society’s administrator – NZ Dairy Careers – monitors time sheets and working hours as well as rosters to ensure farmers are at a minimum meeting their legal requirements.
Accommodation monitoring is also done, as are regular performance reviews and career development discussions with staff.
Brawley says because the societies aren’t training providers themselves they’re not competing with industry groups or private organisations.
Instead they’re used to meet the needs of staff.
Brawley says as well as the onfarm practical skills they need, young staff are also supported to ensure they can look after themselves. Other life-skills such as budgeting and even cooking can be provided.
Extra tuition can be arranged, along with mentoring and referrals to support and service agencies if needed. Career mapping and progression discussion, monitoring of their educational achievement and course completion are also done.
The key outcomes of the initiative include helping provide a reliable source of skilled and motivated people for the dairy industry and increasing the participation of New Zealanders in the industry.
Brawley says the aim is to have an improved pathway for high school leavers to dairying careers and to improve the marketing of dairy careers to Kiwi career changers as well as redeploying registered job seekers who show a level of commitment to the industry.
The project is double-sided, in that it also aims to lift human resource and health and safety practices onfarm by lifting the skills of farmers.
Lewis says all the aims fit well with the sustainable dairying workplace action plan developed by Federated Farmers and DairyNZ and released last year.
