We managed seasonal labour shortages
In response to the bumper crops and crops maturing earlier than expected, we declared seasonal labour shortages in Central Otago, Hawke’s Bay, Bay of Plenty and the Nelson/Marlborough area.
We are responsible for making the call to declare a labour market shortage, but only after we have consulted with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), and local employers have expressed concern that there is insufficient local labour to process an upcoming harvest.
Before we take the step of declaring a seasonal labour shortage, we exhaust all efforts to find workers, including supporting jobseekers to fill relevant vacancies by:
- providing work brokerage support
- running specialised seminars
- providing pre-employment training and upskilling opportunities
- supporting people who need help with transport and accommodation
- building industry partnerships with packhouses
- using our service centres to actively promote vacancies.
These efforts have achieved good results. For example, during the Hawke’s Bay declaration (12 March to 29 April 2018), we placed 1,264 jobseekers into jobs in the horticultural sector in the region.
