Farmers receive influx of job seekers

Farmer and contractor Luke Felmingham from Invergordon said he received 15 inquiries in one day, where he would normally get a couple a month.

“It’s a mixture of backpackers and local people, some people were serious and some were trying to get a back-up plan, because they were going to have reduced hours,” he said.

“We’ve had inquiries from other farmers to see if we’ve got any contacts for them.”

Through these inquiries, Mr Felmingham hired a new casual worker to help with the upcoming sowing season.

He said local people with some farming experience were preferable and that farmers had recently become stricter in assessing applicants’ backgrounds.

On April 1, Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes launched the $50 million Agriculture Workforce Plan, which will match workers who have lost their jobs with employers in the agriculture sector, helping agribusinesses and primary producers to meet their labour and operational needs.

“Through no fault of their own, many people have found themselves out of a job and facing an uncertain future — this is about providing the chance of a new beginning for those workers,” Ms Symes said.

“We can make sure that our amazing farmers have the workforce they need to keep producing for Victoria and for rookie agriculture workers, a new world opens up.”

Recruitment and workforce management company, Food Industry People Group, has reached out to local workers in Tongala and district looking for employment.

Closed imports has increased the demand for fresh food and protein and with working visa holders returning home, there has been a huge demand for labour in the food processing industry.

FIPG spokesperson Darren Basford said supply of fresh food was critical to Australia.

“This is an opportunity for people who have lost their jobs to earn a good income and support local economies,” he said.

“We specialise in recruitment into a large pool of workers for our clients and place at least 100 people in work in any normal week.”