Labour Market Surveys in the post

Fruitgrowers and winegrowers in Central Otago should keep an eye on the mail from this coming week as 220 questionnaires are being posted as part of the Central Otago Labour Market Survey.

The survey, which has received funding support from the Ministry of Social Development, is being driven by the Central Otago Labour Market Governance Group. The group is made up of representatives from local industries as well as local and central government and exists to help solve labour market issues in the district.

One of the key responsibilities of the governance group is to recommend to the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment the number of workers that that the region requires under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme for an upcoming season.

"In order to inform our work and ensure we have adequate labour and accommodation for workers we are undertaking this survey of labour issues, starting with the issues facing our viticulture and horticulture sectors," said John Lane, Chair of the Central Otago Labour Market Governance Group.

Local business consultants Tara Druce from Alexandra and Martin Anderson from Cromwell have been contracted to undertake the work, Mr Lane said.

Central Otago Mayor Tony Lepper said he encouraged those who received a survey to make the time to fill it out.

"I realise that orchardists are in the middle of one of their busiest harvests ever but it is imperative that they give this survey their attention," he said. "The challenges of successfully harvesting and processing this season's bumper crop should be fresh in the minds of our orchardists and the information that we get back can be channelled into supporting future labour requirements for this very seasonal activity.

"We have been lucky in the past matching labour demands to requirements but we cannot rely on luck to meet the growing demand for good staff in the future."

Council Economic Development Manager Warwick Hawker said a similar survey was carried out in 2005 so an "updated and expanded" survey was needed to establish labour requirements going forward and would ensure effective plans were made for the future.

The survey askes business owners a series of questions related to their labour force including: number of employees, recruitment, upskilling, matching, retention and productivity as well as accommodation demand and supply.

The viticulture/horticulture survey is the first phase of the Labour Market Survey project. It will be complemented by one-on-one interviews and a subsequent survey targeting other key sectors that rely heavily on seasonal workers such as hospitality, pastoral farming and transport.

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