The plea for migrants has economic and immigration aspects specific to it, but it strikes me as an end-stage manifestation of something that has been going on for years: the evasion of responsibility for training of workers. Apart from the various abuses and excuses rife in the industry, seasonal horticulture employers and workers seem t…
The plea for migrants has economic and immigration aspects specific to it, but it strikes me as an end-stage manifestation of something that has been going on for years: the evasion of responsibility for training of workers. Apart from the various abuses and excuses rife in the industry, seasonal horticulture employers and workers seem to agree on one thing - that inexperienced (ie Kiwis willing to give it a go, perhaps newly unemployed or underemployed) cannot compete with the experienced migrant workers who return for multiple seasons. It’s far from the only industry where employers cannot afford, or will not contemplate accommodating, the mistakes and slower pace of learners. But it’s one where you can’t, I think, pay for a qualification from the education sector to take the place of learning that is best done, really has to be done, on the job. Not sure what happens when international outsourcing of desperation reaches saturation….
Really interesting insight Janet. Thanks. Hard to see durable solutions when workers are free to quit and take their experience with them. The speed and ease of movement from job to job, and city to city, and country to country, makes it hard for companies to see 'what's in it for me' when the investment has legs and walks out the door every night. Would be great to have some sort of subscription as a service thing for experience. But sadly, not do-able.
The plea for migrants has economic and immigration aspects specific to it, but it strikes me as an end-stage manifestation of something that has been going on for years: the evasion of responsibility for training of workers. Apart from the various abuses and excuses rife in the industry, seasonal horticulture employers and workers seem to agree on one thing - that inexperienced (ie Kiwis willing to give it a go, perhaps newly unemployed or underemployed) cannot compete with the experienced migrant workers who return for multiple seasons. It’s far from the only industry where employers cannot afford, or will not contemplate accommodating, the mistakes and slower pace of learners. But it’s one where you can’t, I think, pay for a qualification from the education sector to take the place of learning that is best done, really has to be done, on the job. Not sure what happens when international outsourcing of desperation reaches saturation….
Really interesting insight Janet. Thanks. Hard to see durable solutions when workers are free to quit and take their experience with them. The speed and ease of movement from job to job, and city to city, and country to country, makes it hard for companies to see 'what's in it for me' when the investment has legs and walks out the door every night. Would be great to have some sort of subscription as a service thing for experience. But sadly, not do-able.