Seasonal pickings

By ESTELLE SARNEY

Seasonal work offers a lifestyle and flexibility afforded by few other jobs. You can now earn a living year-round in some industries, and gain a foothold into a career.

Fruitpicking

Fruitgrowers are facing a bumper harvest this year, but also a shortage of workers to pick and pack the fruit.

Demand peaks from February to May when 30,000 to 40,000 workers are needed throughout the country.

Depending on your choice of recreational area, you could take your pick of jobs in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury or Otago.

Pay ranges from $10-$12 an hour for new pickers, to $18 or even $20 an hour for fit, fast craftsmen.

Hawkes Bay apple exporter Ru Collin says it takes about six months of solid picking experience to earn the top rate, and you can work at picking fulltime by moving between regions such as Northland, Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay.

The biggest growing area, the Bay of Plenty, could provide you with year-round work, as asparagus growers need pickers during fruit growers' low months (September-December).

Or you could pack up and go and work at Mt Ruapehu for a few months (see below), or just have a holiday.

Seasonal contracts are becoming more common, and most growers provide pickers with holiday pay, either included in their hourly rate or paid at the end of their contract. Many also provide accommodation.

You get paid only for the hours you work, however, so bad weather, illness or injury can reduce your income.

Collin says many people underestimate how physically demanding picking is. Then again, it's a great way to get fit in the fresh air.

Peter Silcock, chief executive of the Fruitgrowers and Vegetable Growers Federations, says growers are being encouraged to find good seasonal workers to work in the industry fulltime.

The industry's training organisation runs courses in horticulture and the federation has recently completed a careers video for high-school students to show the job pathways available in horticulture.

Mt Ruapehu

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts has expanded its winter operation to make the mountain a year-round destination for holidaymakers, so it needs adaptable workers.

Human resources manager Marion Ross says a ski patroller in the winter could take guided walks to the crater during summer.

Chairlift operators are needed year round, as the top two chairs remain open to take people to the Knoll Ridge Cafe. This, and the cafe at the Top of the Bruce, also require staff through all seasons.

When the ski season ends, capital projects begin, such as installation of new lifts or groundwork to modify the terrain. Maintenance staff, such as mechanics, carpenters and welders, are employed fulltime at market rates as equipment is stripped and rebuilt during summer.

Seasonal workers earn about $10 an hour in winter, rising to $25 an hour if they end up a department supervisor. Summer rates vary from $10 to $16 an hour.

The start of the season depends on the snowfall, and in winter workers are guaranteed two hours' pay for each day they're rostered on. In summer, they're guaranteed 64 hours a fortnight.

The company pays holiday pay, which most workers take during the downtime from mid-November to mid-December.

Ross says work exchange programmes with resorts overseas are also available, enabling staff keen on winter work to stay in the industry.

Shearing

The introduction of eight-monthly shearing on most sheep farms over the past few years has turned shearing into a year-round job prospect.

If you're willing to travel between different contractors around the country, you can earn $150 to $400 a day, depending on how fast and good you get. Holiday pay is paid as you go.

You get paid only for the number of sheep you shear, so your income can fluctuate depending on the weather (you can't shear wet sheep) and demand - there are days when a region has no more sheep to be shorn.

Wairarapa contractor Greg Herrick says it is hard, physical work, and mentally demanding, as you control the animal while working the machine to ensure top shear quality.

"But that makes the job challenging, rewarding, and fulltime shearers become superbly fit athletes," says Herrick.

It can also become a sport - shearing competitions are run all over the country and shearers take part to socialise and compete for prizemoney.

Shearing courses are run by Massey and Lincoln universities, with instructors who travel around the provinces. They also run courses in wool handling, for those who don't want to grapple with the animal.

With a bit of experience, shearers can easily gain work overseas.

"Australia and England wouldn't get their national flocks shorn without Kiwi shearers," says Herrick.