YOUR LEVY AT WORK
Agribusiness offers job security By Elaine Fisher
Those employed in New Zealand’s agriculture and horticulture sectors will never have to worry about jobs, so long as they keep up with industry innovations, says Deb Francis, principal of AgRecruit. Deb Francis, principal of AgRecruit
“Technology is changing the sector quickly but so long as people, no matter their age, are keeping up their learning and understanding, they will always have work,” says Deb who founded the recruitment company AgRecruit 14 years ago. She is also a member of Women in Horticulture. Thanks to technology, future jobs may be more specialised, pay more and involve less hours worked. “For example, someone who has been picking apples may be trained to operate a machine which does that role instead. They will become highly skilled, possibly work 30 hours a week and earn more. Or they might learn to be a drone pilot, which takes almost as much skill as flying a helicopter.
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The ORCHARDIST : OCTOBER 2021
“Even now, there are so many options that young people completing an appropriate degree can decide which direction to point their career based on their skills and interests and the sustainability of that career path. Deb says agriculture and horticulture has again proved its sustainability and significance to national and local economies with most sectors continuing to perform well despite the impacts of Covid-19. “The future is bright as New Zealand has the fabulous advantage of producing the kind of food consumers want to eat. We have to produce high value food because we are at the other end of the world. We are doing that by meeting new compliance standards and using technology, including precision farming techniques for the application of inputs and irrigation.”
