CoVE for primary sector sign of Govt's commitment to farmers

“This Government believes in our primary sector. It’s the engine room of our economy and the heart of our rural communities. We want to see it grow and thrive and – for that – we need a workforce,” Damien O’Connor said.

The announcement today by the Education Minister of the first Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) for the primary sector is another sign of the Government's commitment to our farmers and growers, says Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor.

"This Government believes in our primary sector. It's the engine room of our economy and the heart of our rural communities. We want to see it grow and thrive and – for that – we need a workforce," Damien O'Connor said.

"This is another demonstration of the Government's commitment to the primary sector and raising the status of vocational education.

"It's estimated the primary sector will need another 50,000 workers by 2025 and over 92,000 more workers with qualifications. While the sector is on the rise, it is still struggling to attract, train and retain the diverse range of people it needs to continue growing.

"Industry has told us they want the Government to work with them to grow their workforce and to help future-proof the sector. We've heard them and we're delivering.

"We've got Taratahi back up and running and courses running at Telford. We're backing Dairy NZ's 'Go Dairy' programme and New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc winter pruning courses, and we recently launched Opportunity Grows Here – a website and marketing campaign to attract New Zealanders into food and fibre jobs.

"A lot of work by a lot of people has gone in to get us to this point. In October last year, I joined with the Primary Industries Skills Leaders Working Group and launched the Food & Fibre Skills Action Plan. Immediately following that, an industry-led Establishment Group was set up to maintain momentum and to start delivering the actions.

"We have not taken our foot off the pedal. There are significant employment opportunities in our primary industries and we are committed to helping to train people to have the skills they need for the opportunities in front of us."

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)