Seasonal work is opening up more work opportunities across the region in the wake of recent layoffs, as food production ramps up for the busy months ahead.
Both horticulture and meat-processing sectors are seeking extra staff, including at Wai-West Horticulture where seasonal staff have been brought in for thinning this year’s apple crop ahead of harvest.
Apple production manager John Schrider says the Waimea Plains orchard has taken on 47 casual workers, most of them Kiwis, with a number recruited from Work and Income (WINZ) including some who completed training courses.
“It hasn’t been hard this year,” he says. “I said I needed 45 and it didn’t take long to get 45 names. Then I said I needed another two and by the end of the day I had another two.”
John says seasonal staff have the opportunity to apply for permanent roles, and some will make a career in it.
“Some of our best permanents have come from WINZ and gone on to become supervisors and managers,” he says. “I can tell immediately if they want the job or have been told to apply.”
He says there are plenty of horticulture companies on the Waimea Plains that take on casuals and many in the industry have moved to a wage-plus-a- bonus system.
“You have to reward for quality as well. And that has been received really well.”
The boysenberry harvest in December will also require seasonal staff to work on the mechanical harvesters, he says, followed by the apple harvest a few weeks later where harvest platforms provide an alternative to ladders.
“It means you can have a different demographic – a wider scope of people suitable for the role.”
While seasonal workers have been easier to source this year, he says the company has been advertising for permanent workers for a while and he’s not sure why more people have not applied.
One reason, he suggests, is that many former Eve’s Valley sawmill employees who lost their jobs have found short-term work in the forestry industry, which continues its clean-up of windthrown blocks.
