The struggle for staff
Retail, security and agriculture sectors need workers
Whanganui employers are crying out for staff but they’re having trouble filling vacancies in a range of businesses. Retail, security, manufacturing, agriculture and horticulture are all looking to have workers ready when the alert level allows businesses to return to full staffing, Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Gloria Campbell said. The ministry’s work brokers can help fill the gaps.
National company Allied Security has a team of about 18 in Whanganui, said lower North Island regional manager Denis Roets. They guard government departments such as Work and Income NZ and Oranga Tamariki, and he could use a couple more people.
Security guards need certificates of approval. They have to be without a criminal record and test clean for drugs.
“I know it looks easy to people, but it’s not that easy,” Roets said.
“It’s quite a difficult job. You are in the public eye all the time.
“Some people do one or two shifts and say they can’t handle it.”
The level 4 lockdown increased the number of security guards needed by about 100 per cent, Roets said. Allied Security was short of staff even before it began.
After lockdown started, people who didn’t have essential work joined as casuals.
They would be kept on if they showed aptitude, Roets said.
“We put a lot of effort into training and getting the right person.”
Securely, a nationwide business that services medical alarms and installs security equipment, could use another three security technicians in the region, general manager Mark Smith said.
It is looking to offer apprenticeships to grow the talent pool.
It doesn’t do security guard work, either static or mobile.
“It’s too hard to find staff and keep staff,” Smith said.
On the retail front, Pak’nSave Whanganui was managing well with the staff it had, owner Gareth Jones said.
Team members are on the door, managing customer numbers in the store, and part-time staff are working extra hours.
Countdown supermarkets face a tight labour market across New Zealand, a spokesperson said.
The company is offering inducements such as flexible shift patterns and a faster and simpler recruiting process.
“We then focus on giving our team the support to develop a long-term, meaningful career with us.”
In manufacturing, Whanganui business Tasman Tanning was working through the lockdown as an essential service to the meat industry, chief executive Neville Dyer said.
Staff numbers are down to allow for social distancing in alert level 3.
It’s the busy calf season, and leather is needed for the footwear side of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Tasman Tanning has been looking for staff for months. It has upgraded its plant, added automation and adjusted wages to attract people.
“We’re still struggling to get people coming in. It doesn’t appear to be money [that’s lacking]. There’s just not people available,” Dyer said.
Silver Fern Farms’ Waito¯tara meatworks got 65 per cent of its peak season labour force of 230 from Whanganui, a spokesperson said.
Last season it couldn’t source all of the 70 new staff members needed, and it expected the same in the coming season.
Whanganui & Partners agribusiness strategic lead Colleen Sheldon is hearing about labour shortages on Whanganui farms — from management through to labouring.
Jobs in New Zealand’s primary
sector were 2.9 per cent down on the previous year, she said, affected by the border closure restricting numbers of workers in the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme and backpackers with work visas.
“Businesses have had to source
New Zealand workers to fill these positions, adding pressure to local labour markets.”
The skills needed could be complex, she said, but the jobs were rewarding and people liked the Whanganui lifestyle that went with them. New Zealand’s unemployment rate continued to drop until the latest lockdown, and is predicted to fall further when it is over.
Whanganui recruitment agencies have had just a few people out doing essential work during lockdown.
AWF was working in supermarkets and manufacturing, business manager Tina Rush said.
She was aware more staff were needed in manufacturing.
On Call Central had one person working in a plastics factory and another in water services, general manager Craig McClelland said. He was waiting for alert levels to ease, so more people on their books could work. “It’s a pain because we’ve got all these good people sitting there.”