The people problem

KPMG’s Ian Proudfoot says the primary sector needs people from a diverse range of backgrounds –  including app developers and consumer experience experts, as much as scientists and farm labourers.  “There is no silver bullet for attracting people into a primary sector career given the low profile the industry has in schools and the historic perceptions of those who influence career choices.

“The recurring theme of our discussions was that the issue is too big for any single organisation to address [by itself]. 

“There is an urgent need for a well-designed, carefully messaged and widely communicated pan-industry career awareness initiative. It must explain what the primary sector is, what it produces, who it sells to and what it contributes to New Zealand. It must be clear that the industry offers a huge diversity of career options – jobs that require many different skills, with ambition and a desire to succeed as the only common attributes.” 

Proudfoot says any strategy must lift the engagement with schools and universities, especially in cities where young people gain only limited insight into the primary sector and are presented with few obvious pathways into careers. 

He says sector leaders need to get into schools and tell students their career stories, and companies need to support teachers to incorporate primary sector themes into the curriculum. School camps need to become farm stay experiences, and urban farms developed to enable every kid to gain industry awareness.