There will be an Opportunity Grows Here Careers Trail for visitors to follow around the Fieldays event to showcase career options and vacancies. Photo / Stephen Barker
There will be an Opportunity Grows Here Careers Trail for visitors to follow around the Fieldays event to showcase career options and vacancies. Photo / Stephen Barker
The depth and breadth of careers in New Zealand's thriving food and fibre sector will be showcased at Fieldays this year at an Opportunity Grows Here Careers Hub.
Fieldays - the largest agricultural event in the Southern Hemisphere - is partnering with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to launch the careers hub at this year's event at Mystery Creek from November 30 to December 3.
At the hub, attendees may learn about food and fibre career pathways and consider joining a thriving sector.
The interactive hub will be a hive of activity, with education providers and sector groups teaming up to showcase the industries that have led New Zealand's recovery from the global pandemic.
MPI director-general Ray Smith says primary industries have grown despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lifelong careers are available in food and fibre right across the supply chain. Photo / Supplied
"New Zealand's food and fibre sector is leading the nation's recovery from Covid-19 by keeping vital food and fibre flowing domestically and overseas. For the first time, annual export revenue reached more than $52.2 billion in the year to June 30, 2022," Smith said.
This growth highlights the urgent need for skilled and passionate food and fibre workers. Opportunity Grows Here, a campaign managed by MPI, is addressing this need by connecting people with exciting careers.
"With such a key sector contributing to the New Zealand economy and the wellbeing of our rural communities, it's important we have the necessary workforce to meet the demand," Smith said.
"There are rewarding, lifelong careers available in food and fibre right across the supply chain, and we're excited to showcase these within the Fieldays Opportunity Grows Here Careers Hub."
The careers hub will help sow the seed, helping people realise that opportunities within the sector reach beyond the farmgate. Food and fibre careers range from work on-farm, in science, technology, business management, and logistics, to animal welfare, marketing, and research and development in locations across the motu.
New Zealand National Fieldays Society CEO Peter Nation says the careers hub is an important part of its mission to advance agriculture.
"We have a duty to help future-proof the sector through educating people on where the opportunities lie in food and fibre," Nation said.
"We are excited to partner with MPI to provide Fieldays attendees with an interactive showcase of New Zealand's ideas, products, and services that are in such high demand across the globe."
Smith says that those considering a career in food and fibre will be joining a sector they can be proud of, as New Zealand export products are highly sought after.
"New Zealand has a proud history of producing high quality, innovative, and world class food and fibre products, with care for people and place remaining front-of-mind," Smith said.
"We export most of what we produce, and our food is demanded and enjoyed in more than 130 countries - for a small country at the bottom of the South Pacific, this is pretty impressive."
There will be a number of activations and experiences run alongside the careers hub during Fieldays. This includes an Opportunity Grows Here Careers Trail for visitors to follow around the event, showcasing career options and vacancies as well as a speaker and engagement series and a jobs board, where visitors can see available food and fibre roles.
School groups who are interested in visiting Fieldays can receive the discounted entry price of $10 per student (Ts and Cs apply). Please fill out the registration form here: https://forms.office.com/r/D3CiRNT02r.
Scope out the wide range of exciting career options at www.opportunitygrowshere.nz/ and visit the Fieldays Opportunity Grows Here Careers Hub from 30 November 30 to December 3.
