Chief executive Tim Mackle says they stopped taking new entrants for the three-week programme at the end of October.
Mackle says they will review the programme and look at ways it could be made more effective, given there was no indication that international borders will be opened up in the short-term.
He says they had not had the numbers through the programme that he had hoped for and pointed to several reasons for that.
These included lower than predicted unemployment levels and the Government wage subsidy, which helped out many whose income was affected by covid-19 and people unwilling to relocate to work on farms in the country for a variety of reasons.
The dairy industry was also having to compete with other industries looking for workers including other primary industries and the construction industry.
“We didn’t quite know and appreciate how much these other sectors will be in demand for skilled labour and I think the Government’s investment plan in creating infrastructure will only serve to heighten that demand,” he said.
To date, 1600 people have shown interest in GoDairy courses, of which 575 registered for training for the three-week course.
Of those 575 people, 72 graduated and 35 of those who finished the course have found employment.
Mackle says the data had to be put into context.
“It’s a complex issue and you can’t flick a switch,” he said.
He says it was also a reflection of how tight New Zealand’s labour market is. Some of those 500 people were still finishing the course, while some opted out after the first week after deciding dairy farming was not for them.
The first week of GoDairy was online and is designed to give people a taste of what the industry is like – and to give them a reality check.
He says those who went on to week two had to travel to the training location, such as Scott Farm on the outskirts of Hamilton. Some had no means of transport to the training and had to opt out, while others were simply a no-show.
Some of those 575 dropped out of training because they secured jobs in the dairy industry after applying for jobs prior to starting GoDairy.
“There’s a decent chunk of that 575 who have done that first week or done that second week and they’ve gone straight to a job because farmers have wanted them,” Mackle said.
Most of the 35 who had secured jobs from GoDairy had undertaken a career change.
“The bottom line is that we probably haven’t seen the level of career changes in that 575 people that registered that we may have anticipated at the start of covid because none of us knew how this would play out,” he said.
On the positive side, the feedback received from those people participating in the programme had been very positive.
“Some of these people are from urban backgrounds and have found their calling, we believe,” he said.
He says in spite of the campaign to get more locals into the industry, there were still around 800 vacancies nationwide in the dairy industry. While the number was higher than usual, it was not a crisis.
“A lot of farmers have done things a bit tougher this spring and have gone into the shed and milked themselves and have survived with one less labour unit,” he said.
Mackle warned this could bloom into a major issue if unaddressed.
“Farmers are getting tired. They have jumped in and done more than they normally would,” he said.
“It’s not sustainable to do that again next spring. We have to work together to resolve the issue and shore up the migrant workers that are still in New Zealand that are still on temporary visas and we need to get more Kiwis into dairying as well.”
He says this was why GoDairy needed a rethink and a relaunch in March.
People within the industry with one to three years’ experience were particularly sought after because they could be left to manage certain aspects of the farm business.
“Any person you can hire with decision-making abilities is a real bonus for farmers,” he said.
Mackle says the sector was working closely with Federated Farmers and other groups such as Horticulture NZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand behind the scenes and engaged together with the Government.
“But our needs are different. Hort is seasonal, ours are 365 days of the year,” he said.
