The employer challenge of securing qualified staff in agribusiness

Mark Evans – Outlook 2011

Overview

• Regional, rural and remote

• Agribusiness

• Advisors, consultants and agronomists (extension/adoption)

• The problem

• What’s going to happen

• Solutions…??

Regional, rural and remote

• Law

• Engineering

• Doctors and medical professionals

• Builders

• Teachers

• It’s not just agriculture

Agribusiness – competitors and ally’s

• Very diversified market and requirements

• Finance/insurance, farm management, sales, advisory, mining, government, R&D, manufacturing, product development/management…

• For the limited number of graduates there is wide range of opportunities

Advisors, consultants and agronomists

Setting the advisory scene

• Farmers on average are getting older• Farms on average are bigger and more

complex• Advisors private or agri-business and

government based on average are getting older

• The advisory scene has changed and is not focused at a government level

• One on one advice is the domain of commercial consultants either private or from agri-business

Finding an advisor

• ‘The only place to find an agronomist is at the hospital, in the delivery ward…!!!’

• Chronic shortage of graduates nationally• Presently I could place 20-25 agronomists –

this is ongoing• Nationally, across industry, the number is

100+ agronomists needed at any one time• Present level of equilibrium is unsustainable• Advisors etc will burn out as governments pull

out of the sector

My marketplace…

• 230+ Ruralco agronomists and advisors• 98% at least one degree including,

MSc, MBA’s, Post doc fellow’s etc• Some consultants working in business• Average age: 35-40+yrs• Many have % of business• Technical and client focused• Rapidly growing market

What I’m told about recruiting in Ag

• There are plenty of candidates…

• You don’t pay enough…

• There are no candidates…

• There’s more money in mining…

• We can’t compete with Government

• We can’t compete against private business…

What’s it really like trying to recruit in Ag?

• Hard, very hard

• Finding people for roles is almost impossible

• The market is not very ‘liquid’

• It’s a very small gene pool that we’re all fishing in

• $’s alone don’t shift people, but it helps

How do we really recruit…?

• In advisory businesses there are 3 ways to gain employee’s– Train graduates– Wait for opposition to up-set their existing

staff so that they leave– Poach opposition staff

• All three are providing limited options due to the lack of qualified people

These guys are not the problem…!!

It’s finding qualified people…!!!

• I need qualified people!!!

• What is a ‘qualified person’?– Degree or 2…?– Post doctoral fellow…?– A person who has the capacity and

capability to do the job…?– Someone that can walk upright and has a

heartbeat…???

What’s the problem?

• We sell agriculture the wrong way, it’s an exciting industry

• We expect that people want to move through a hierarchical system and that they are mobile

• We expect that qualified people will want to work in agriculture because it is agriculture

• Lack of graduates for traditional and future positions – not future proofing the industry through the provision and development of qualified people

What’s going to happen?

• Potential loss of leaders in agriculture

• Increased salaries in ‘bush’ mean fewer will move to city – issue for agribusiness

• More competition for a scarce commodity – increased salaries

• Increased salaries but still the same level of interest in living remote or regional

Solutions…???• Redevelop school curricula for agriculture as a

multidisciplinary based subject• Train and enthuse teachers and schools• Reinforce this within universities• Promote agriculture as cutting edge science,

business, environment, finance etc career• Engage students as potential employees and

future leaders• Develop qualified people through a process of

training and education for the future of agriculture

Help…!!!