Agricultural education is changing and the amalgamation of Telford into the Lincoln University fold is a sign of this. The growth in profitability in farming has seen a demand for more skilled participants to drive production forward into the future.
In many provinces of NZ, shortages of skilled dairy workers are being met by immigrant personnel and many see this as a wasted opportunity for our growing unemployed youth.Good remuneration rates are availiable for skilled people but better education levels are needed by many, and Telford seeks to improve this.
Prof Lambs background shows he can relate to developing the hands on skills now needed in many areas of farming, that some see have been missing in University type education of the past. Student growth is being seen for the pracitical courses that Lincoln and Telford promote, and the amalgamation of both institutes will enforce this.
Is the agricultural industry being well served by quality education, and are you happy with the skills offered in the rural labour force? Your views?
Telford has seen many changes this year and, this month, will also have a new director reports The ODT. From October 10, Prof Charles (Charley) Lamb will take up the top post at the former rural polytechnic. Prof Lamb (58) is an associate professor and head of department of Lincoln University's business management, law, and marketing department."It [Telford] is a lovely place. I grew up in Southland so I've always had the South in my heart. Old Lincoln was more like Telford is now - it's more or less back to the future. Telford has been an incredibly successful training institution in its own right and it survived when others didn't."
Prof Lamb has big plans for the former rural polytechnic, and hoped to see staff swaps between Lincoln and Telford, and the development of specialist programmes."I think Telford has huge potential. It makes Lincoln quite unique through vocational and higher educational study. We have the opportunity to do something different and can integrate Lincoln programmes into Telford."
Prof Lamb was born in Invercargill and when he left school, worked at Ocean View Freezing Works in Bluff before joining the Royal New Zealand Air Force for 10 years, flying C130s and Strikemasters. When he left the air force in 1979, he went to work at the Belfast freezing works and also worked as a wine waiter while studying at the University of Canterbury.Prof Lamb graduated with a bachelor of commerce and econometrics (mathematics and statistics) and has spent the past 30 years as the owner of a market research company while also lecturing at Lincoln University, specialising in statistical economics.
Lincoln achievements
• Head of business management, law and marketing department.
• Director Australasian Institute of Motorcycle Studies project.
•C onsultant for a wide range of organisation in the public and private sector.
• Inaugural winner of Lincoln University special achievement award for excellence in teaching.
• Researcher in all aspects of motorcycling and motorcyclist behaviour.
4 Comments
shortages of skilled dairy workers are being met by immigrant personnel
I do not agree that skilled dairy worker shortages are being met by immigrant personnel. Many of the immigrants do have university degrees however on arrival they are usually employed as basic dairy workers due to them coming from completely different dairy systems. They also often end up working initially on the larger farms. There are varied reasons why kiwis aren't attracted to these positions.
and many see this as a wasted opportunity for our growing unemployed youth. This is such a 'throwback' attitude! Immigrants are used to fill shortages in viticulture, horticulture, elderly care, IT etc etc. Why do we not see people pushing for the growing unemployed youth to fill these gaps? Dairy farming is long hours in all weathers - a lot of young simply will not cope with that let alone, have the motivation to stick in a job where they may be doing very repetitive work and/or work 14 days on 2 days off.
That said, the Telford/Lincoln amalgamation gives those wishing to study ag another quality option. Many farmers encourage their staff to attend Ag ITO training and will reimburse the costs of successful Ag ITO modules. This is an excellent option for those who choose 'on the job' formal training.
I put my money where my mouth is. 80 % of our workforce are from overseas,including senior management. After 32 years in the dairy industry I find the local munters as appetising as rotten meat. We operate a 6 on 2 off roster with a maximum of 50 hours per week,encourage and heavily subsidise ITO ,6 weeks annual leave over the winter and treat these guys like they treat us. With respect,good humour and a genuine desire to prosper and do well.
I hope you give them time off outside of winter for holidays too bruno32. :-)
An acquaintance who has a large dairy enterprise employs mainly immigrants. Most have been with him for around 4 years However he said that over time he has found that if the majority rather than minority, of farm staff are immigrants, it is a less fractious workplace.
The 'local munters' can't be all bad if 20% of your workforce are kiwis. ;-)
I put my money where my mouth is. 80 % of our workforce are from overseas,including senior management. After 32 years in the dairy industry I find the local munters as appetising as rotten meat. We operate a 6 on 2 off roster with a maximum of 50 hours per week,encourage and heavily subsidise ITO ,6 weeks annual leave over the winter and treat these guys like they treat us. With respect,good humour and a genuine desire to prosper and do well.
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