Author: Lynne Strong

I am a 6th generation farmer who loves surrounding myself with optimistic, courageous people who believe in inclusion, diversity and equality and embrace the power of collaboration. I am the founder of Picture You in Agriculture. Our team design and deliver programs that inspire pride in Australian agriculture and support young people to thrive in business and life

Action4Youth – a vision to create a workforce attraction, support and thrive model that can be scaled and replicated by any industry

Action4Youth is a vision to create a workforce attract, support and thrive model that can be scaled and replicated by any industry

It is the result of 20 years of applied research by many people investigating and trialing frameworks that understand the wants, needs and pain points of the people it aims to serve.

The model has three phases – EXPLORE_CONNECT_SUPPORT

It began with identifying who are the right people to bring to the table to support the vision.

It acknowledges you need place based models with resources for local solutions

The Brotherhood of St Lawrence  Foundational Capability Pathway identified the key components that form the skeleton:

  1. Young people need a breadth of skills
  2. Co-design and co-delivery – the people who directly benefit have ownership
  3. Partnerships and relationships – work with the willing

Research by the Brotherhood of St Laurence has also identified two focus areas post COVID

  1. Building employer capability
  2. Mental Health and Well Being of Young People

What does the current ACTION4YOUTH step by step plan look like

Step One. Bring the Right people to the Table 

Step Two. Follow identified best practice

Step Three. Identify and focus on the Top Three Modes of Influence

Step Four. Co-design a model that is participant ( teachers/career advisors, students, employers) centric

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Step Five. Identify and Engage Vocational Exploration Psychology Organisation to support educators and give them confidence they can support students to identify their values and explore careers

Step 6. EXPLORE . Offer taster opportunities . Awareness becomes Attraction

Step 6. CONNECT students with role models and mentors and employers

Step 7. Provide SUPPORT for students and employers to build their capability

Step 8. Engage Headspace  to support students with mental health, physical health, & managing work and study.

Step 9. Identify great work being done by others we could partner with and leverage

We have pressed the launch button and just when everything was going wonderfully the government in their wisdom moved NAPLAN from May to March 😊The things that you just cant account for in a project risk assessment 😊

Watch this space as we share with you our journey

#Action4Youth

 

 

 

 

 

 

What does real leadership look like

Role models inspire, they motivate and they provide a benchmark you can aspire to achieve.

I have spent the last twenty years searching the agriculture sector for people who define REAL leadership for me.

Cathy McGowan AO is my benchmark and I was equally inspired when I saw 29 year old Ryan McParland in action. 

The leadership journey begins with knowing how to lead yourself, then to lead teams and finally to lead systems. I believe Ryan has the capacity to not only lead systems but to drive meaningful change within Australian agriculture. He has the skills to create a movement and also the skills to gather around him the role models, mentors, champions and funding partners that he needs to be successful,” Source  

At Action4Agriculture we have been supporting young people to go on the leadership journey. Our CULTIVATE program supports them to learn to lead themselves. Our Young Environmental Champions program supports them to lead others. Our Young Farming Champions Leadership Team Innovation Hub supports them to practice forms of leadership.

The world is crying out for more youth led organisations and more youth led projects. Our research has shown us a lot more consideration could be being given to how much a young person’s life can change between the ages of 12 to 30.

They transition from education to work, they fall in love, they make decisions about careers or children and whether they can have both.

This year our youth led leadership team trialed holacracy. The  person who put their hand up to be convenor suddenly found herself with a not to be missed opportunity to study in London and her PhD studies relocating her to Laos for 12 months. Life is full on when you are young

In talking to Ryan, one of my key interests in asking our wonderful journalist Mandy McKeesick to interview him and his “fan” club was the pivotal role his employer BlueScope is playing in nurturing his leadership journey.  If BlueScope see the wisdom in providing Ryan with flexibility, champions and funding through their Community Foundation partnership with WIN4 then surely they too are setting a workplace culture benchmark all organisations can aspire to have.

Watch this space – Ryan has started a conversation in our team and with other people and organisations who want to support young people to be part of the youth leadership  co-design process

 

 

 

The Big Question – what does meaningful change look like

Over the years I have worked with some extra-ordinary people. One of those is Changeologist Les Robinson
My big question “what does it take to drive meaningful change” starts with a lot of reflection on what meaningful change looks like for you and the people/organisations you are working with and successfully defining the joint vision.
At Action4Agriculture we are disciples of Les’ work in this space. Les is a big believer in keeping it simple.
Another brains trust we love working with at Action4Agriculture is Professor Felicity Blackstock who is a learning and development guru.
Felicity and I were recently discussing the evaluation of our Action4Youth Workforce Roadmap Model project and Felicity asked me the BIG Question – what does meaningful change look like?
 When you are trying to drive change you have to be able to clearly identify the problem. The research is in – Secondary School students need universal access to high quality work based learning and industry has been identified as part of the problem
So what would meaningful impact look like for me
  1. agricultural employers can clearly articulate the ROI for providing work-based learning for school students
  2. agricultural employers are confident they have the skills and knowledge and mentoring capacity to ensure students can use their work based learning time effectively
  3. agricultural employers commit the time and energy into learning how to engage with workplace learning providers and young people

The pièce de résistance for me is having a cohort of facilitators who have the capacity to deliver  workshops for all 12 career management competencies for the Australian Blueprint  for students – how rewarding is that

Superstars like Josh Farr

Memories of my Father

RIP John Lawrence Lindsay 18th June 1930- 9th February 2023

My dad, John Lindsay, in his happy place 

Over the years I have written a number of posts featuring my father here and  here and here and here 

I invited him to share with me his journey but I never managed to persuade him. There is a believe in the digital age that if you are not on Google you don’t exist. At this point in time its my memories of my father that document his life. I think that’s sad because my memories are a little tainted by my PhD in judgment

This post will be work in progress – I will use it to document the memories as I reflect

My memories of my father are crisp

He loved his dog Lucy and Lucy was his nickname for me so I will take that as a sign

John and Lucy in October 2013 – with special thanks to Colin Seis for making my dad happy 

We are all products of our life experiences and the decisions we make are often a result of some of the first things our parents say to us.

My father was the first born son of a pioneer Illawarra dairy farming family and he hated milking cows.

A well remembered mantra to his children growing up  was “never learn to milk a cow”

My father convinced his father to sell the dairy farm at Dapto and buy a farm for us at Cowra – my father leading a cow at the sale of the herd in 1958

He was a traditionalist.  Another mantra that is front of mind is “the first born son always inherits the farm”

When you are told from an early age boys are more important than girls and you have a highly competitive nature, you may be very determined to disrupt the status quo. At times I feel it has consumed me

Some things I remember

My father had a great eye for a good show horse. He could spot potential everywhere, driving past a paddock, at the knackery and other people’s cast off’s

My brother, sister and I were all good show riders – but it was the competitive spirit in me that my father tapped into to realise the potential of the “bargains” he picked up

 

My father was very proud of his haymaking skills

Early days on the farm at Cowra in the early 1960s

My father loved raising prime angus steaks for your table.

The look on his face when he topped the sale yard

My father was a disciple of the Ford XR6 and belonged to that special group of octogenarians who drive utes with low profile tyres

He even had a short term career as a brand ambassador

John Lindsay – influencer 😊

and on this day 45 years ago

I imagine over the next few weeks I will locate the photo albums and more memories will surface

We can all spend our lives trying to convince one person we are worthy OR

Please share with me what you are doing to create a movement of change

#movementofchange

and a big shoutout to my dad’s next door neighbours The Jamiesons – they are magnificent humans and the best of the best of neighbours – they took very good care of my dad whilst his family were far away

 

 

Agricultural Shows – a lesson in high level community organisation and volunteer succession planning

Employers are:

82% more likely to choose a candidate with volunteering experience and

85% more likely to overlook resume flaws when volunteer work is present. 

As the Action4Agriculture team recognise two of our own volunteers ( Emily May and Danielle Fordham) by nominating them for the NSW Government Hidden Treasures Honor Role I am finding myself admiring some other organisations manned by volunteers that I have been working with

This post is a celebration of the work of Ryan McParland who comes from a long line of family volunteers with a shared passion for local agricultural shows.

Ryan played a founding role in his local show society’s ‘youth in ag’ group and is working to replicate and scale the Rural Ambassador model for the South Coast and Tablelands, all while working as a mechanical engineer at BlueScope Steel where he is a highly valued member of the team as this quote from his manager reinforces

Ryan is a gifted engineer who continually seeks improvement, not only in himself but in the people and the systems around him. As a genuine leader, he engenders a spirit of cooperation and engages those he works with, seldom taking the credit that is his due.

Ryan is well known to be a youth leader outside of our company, regularly involving us with him in charitable fund raising, promoting the shows and team building activities that lean heavily on his agricultural life experiences.

Ryan is a role model, who is genuine and is an asset to anyone fortunate to work with him.

Harry Murphy  Manager  Energy Services Asset Development, Digital, Services and Manufacturing Excellence

Ryan  was a 2021  RAS of NSW Rural Achiever and his experience inspired him to kickstart a similar initiative at local shows in his region. Ryan recently invited me to judge the Albion Park Rural Ambassador program that he has been instrumental in founding, with the long term view of seeing it replicated at all NSW shows. These young people come from all walks of life, with a dedication to give back to the communities they are proud of.

I first met the Rural Ambassador finalists, Maddi Calloway, Shaylene Mawbey, Jayda Tisma and Ethan Forsyth a week before the show for their interviews. I  was gob smacked. All came well prepared and answered the questions from their hearts with a raw authenticity we don’t see enough of in the 21st century.

Ryan then managed to entice WINNews ( and me to support them) to showcase the ambassadors

Then I got to spend a whole day at the show watching them and their extraordinary volunteer work ethic in action.

I certainly discovered just important volunteers are. Wow so much happens in 12 hours at an agricultural show.

These wonderful pictures from the Wollongong Camera Club share some of the joy and excitement

Its a a family affair with Ryan’s brother Glenn coordinates the animal nursey – bring his farmyard to the show

There are opportunities to milk a cow, real ones and faux ones

There are competitions

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There is sideshow alley and face painting

and show food – chip on a stick. With potatoes in short supply I wasn’t overly surprised to see these sell for $10 each

and those stunt people that thrill the crowds and seem to have no fear. Did I hear correctly this truck cost $400K?

and it all seems to run like clockwork.

There are some important research facts around the value of volunteering for young people.

They bring fresh ideas,  they adjust easily, they are naturally inquisitive, and are more likely to discover creative solutions.

Volunteering can have a positive impact on volunteers as well as the people and organisations they help.

  • From building skills like collaboration and problem solving
  • they get invaluable life experiences.

Volunteers must put their own needs aside to address the needs of others.

Exposure to meaningful volunteer opportunities as children and young people helps foster lasting empathy and a sense of belonging, qualities necessary in cultivating safe, unified communities.

After shadowing the Albion Park Show rural ambassadors for a week I am in awe of what it takes to draw a record crowd to an event and keep them entertained from 8am until 10pm. A reminder of how important it is that young people like Ethan Forsyth, Madi Calloway, Shay Mawbey and Jayda Tisma put their hands up to carry on the proud tradition of community volunteering that it takes to make it all happen

Congratulations to Madi Calloway who is the 2023 Albion Park Show Rural Ambassador – a truly tough decision. Mega shoutout to Ryan McParland doing an extraordinary job of bringing local youth together. 🙏 BlueScope and #WINTV for investing in NextGen #countryshows #community #youthinag #volunteering #action4agriculture

 

See the wonderful photos from the Wollongong Camera Club here 

 

 

#makingadifference #creatingabetterworldtogether

 

 

 

Could empathy and compassionate curiosity be the silver bullet?

Today I am reposting a blog I did for Action4AgricultureChat to allow me to  also repost this wonderful post from The Ethics Centre “I’m sorry *if* I offended you”: How to apologise better in an emotionally avoidant world

I recently signed up for a workshop with Amy Gallo,  an international expert in dealing with difficult people

If we are honest with ourselves we can all be difficult to deal with if some-one touches the wrong buttons at the wrong time.

I manage a capability building program for young people who are “doers” and changemakers

I often find myself fielding calls asking for advice on how to handle people who are resistant to change

The first thing I say is “This is not my area of expertise”

Whilst I have done multiple workshops across the world with world class experts like Amy. Its one thing to learn the theory, its another to put into into practice, another to find safe spaces to practice it and the mega important one finding the role models in the Compassion Curiosity Framework space  that you can surround yourself with, learn from and channel when you need to

What my years of training has allowed me to do is identify the people who do it well and they make my heart sing

I saw an extraordinary example when I watched Series 12 Episode 2 of Call the Midwife recently

This 4 min video collates the scenes that I am referring to. Watch how Sister Julienne role models the Compassionate Curiosity Framework ( hear Kwame Christian talk about the framework here )

1. Acknowledging emotion

2. Getting curious with compassion

3. Engaging in joint problem solving

what an ideal time to extract this from Sarah Wilson The Ethics Centre post 

What *if* we offend or harm unintentionally?

I was presented with the above ethical quandary while writing this. Someone on social media commented that she’d wanted to approach me recently but felt she couldn’t because she had two kids in tow at the time. She figured I’d judge her for being a “procreator” given my climate activism work and anti-consumption stance. It was an unfortunate assumption. I had only last week written about how bringing population growth into the climate crisis blame-fest is wrong, ethically and factually (it’s not how many we are, it’s how we live). 

Of course, her self-conscious pain was real. But did I need to repent if I’d done nothing wrong, and certainly not intentionally (indeed, I’d not acted, in bad faith or otherwise). 

I decided there was still a very good opportunity to switch out an “if” for a “that”. I replied: “I’m sorry that you felt….”. And I was. I didn’t want her to have that impression of judgement from another, nor to feel so self-conscious. I was sorry in the broad sense of feeling bad for her. Feeling sorry can be a sense of tapping into a collective regret for the way things are, even if you are not directly responsible. 

The real opportunity here was to take on responsibility for healing any hurt, and to speed it up. If I’d listed out and justified why this person was mistaken (wrong) in feeling as she did, I’d have also missed an opportunity to be raw and open to the broader pain of the human condition. 

Doing good apology is essentially an act in correctly apportioning the tasks required to get the outcome that we are all after, which, for most adults, is growth, intimacy and expansion. Ruttenberg makes the point that some indigenous cultures work to this (more mature) style of repentance (as opposed to cheap grace), as well as various radical restorative justice movements. I note that the authors and elders who contributed to the Uluru Statement from the Heart often remind us that the document is an invitation to all Australians to grow into our next era.  

and to help us all do it better – the full post from The Ethics Centre

“I’m sorry *if* I offended you”: How to apologise better in an emotionally avoidant world

BY SARAH WILSON 8 DEC 2022

As we gear up for a referendum on a Voice to Parliament next year, I’ve been wondering if we need to have a better look at the way we say sorry.

We live in a highly binary and individualistic world that struggles to repent well. Yet we are increasingly aware of – and flummoxed by – bad faith efforts at the gesture.  

Witness the fallout from former Prime Minister Scott Morrisons’ baffling response speech to being censured last week in which he refused to apologise to the nation. I reckon we ache to do better; we want true healing. 

We could start with looking at the way we so often insist on whacking the Almighty Absolving Qualifier “if” when we issue an “I’m sorry”. I’m sorry if you’re offended/upset/angry. We go and plug one in where a perfectly good “that” would do a far better job.  

But an “if” negates any repentant intent. Actually, worse. It gaslights. It puts up for dispute whether the hurt or offence is actually being felt and whether it is legitimate. Attention switches to the victim’s authenticity and their right to feel injured. Did you actually get hurt? Hmmm…. 

Things get even more disconcerting when the quasi-apologiser thinks they have done something gallant with their qualified “I’m sorry”. And will gaslight you again if you pull them up on the flimsiness of it. What, so you can’t even accept an apology!  

I had a rich, senior businessmen do the if-sorry job on me recently. “I’m sorry if you’re angry,” he said in a really rather small human way. Rather than standing there miffed, I replied, “Great! Yep, you definitely fucked up. And so I’m definitely and rightly angry. Now that’s established, sure, I’ll take on that you’d like to repent.” 

I heard a well-known doctor on the radio the other morning very consciously (it seemed) drop the if from the equation when he had to apologise for making remarks about a minority group (in error) in a previous broadcast. “I’m sorry I said those things. I was wrong. I’m not going to justify myself. There are no excuses. I was in the wrong,” he said. It was a good, textbook apology and he probably wouldn’t land in trouble for it. 

But, and it immediately begs, is that the point of an apology? 

For the wrongdoer to stay out of trouble? For them to neatly right a wrong by going through a small moment of awkward, vulnerable exposure? 

What about the victim? Where do they sit in apologies?

I recall listening to a radio discussion where all this was dissected. The point that grabbed me at the time was this: In our culture, the responsibility of ensuring that an apology is effective in bringing closure to a conflict mostly rests on the victim, the person being apologised to. No matter the calibre of the apology, it’s up to the person who has been wronged to be all “that’s ok, we’re sweet” about things. They are effectively responsible for making the perpetrator feel OK in their awkward vulnerable moment. (And to keep the pain shortlived.) 

And so a successful apology rests in the victim’s readiness to forgive. 

Which is all the wrong way around. At an individual-to-individual level it’s cheap grace. The wrongdoer gets absolved with so little accountability involved. 

At a macro level, say with injuries like racism or sexism, we can see the setup is about a minority class forgiving, or bowing once again, to the powerful. 

I managed to find the expert who’d led the discussion –  Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, a New York-based Rabbi and scholar who’s written a book on the matter, On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World, a title that says it all, right? 

Ruttenberg argues we are doing apologies inadequately and in a way that fails to repair the damage done precisely because we privilege forgiveness over repentance. 

So how to apologise like you mean it

Drawing on the 12th Century philosopher Maimonides, Ruttenberg sets out five steps to a proper apology. 

1. Confession

The wrongdoer fully owns that they did something wrong. There’s to be no blabbing of great intentions, or how “circumstances” conspired; no “if” qualifiers. You did harm, own it! Ideally, she says, the confession is done publicly.

2. Start to Change

Next, you the work to educate yourself, get therapy etc. Like, demonstrate you’re in the process of shifting your ways. You’re talk and trousers! 

3. Make amends

But do so with the victim’s needs in mind. What would make them feel like some kind of repair was happening? Cash? Donate to a charity they care about? 

4. OK, now we get to the apology!

The point of having the apology sitting right down at Step 4 is so that by the time the words “I’m sorry” are uttered, we, as the perpetrator, are engaged and own things. The responsibility is firmly with us, not the victim. By this late stage in the repenting process we are alive to how the victim felt and genuinely want them to feel seen. It’s not a ticking of a box kinda thing. Plus, we’ve taken the responsibility for bringing about closure, or healing, out of the victim’s hands. 

 5. Don’t do it again

OK, so this is a critical final step. But there’s a much better chance the injury won’t be repeated if the person who did the harm has complete the preceding four steps, according to Ruttenberg and Maimonides. 

Does forgiveness have to happen?

I went and read some related essays by Rabbi Ruttenberg just now. The other point that she makes is that whether or not the victim forgives the perpetrator is moot. When you apologise like you mean it (as per the five steps), I guestimate that 90 per cent of the healing required for closure has been done by the perpetrator. And it happens regardless of whether the harmed party forgives, because the harm-doer sat in the issue and committed to change. The spiritual or emotional or psychological shift has already occurred. 

I should think that, looking at it from a victim-centric perspective, this opened space allows the harmed party to feel more comfortable to forgive, should they choose to.

It’s a win-win, regardless of whether the aggrieved waves the forgiveness stick. 

(The Rabbi notes that in Judaism, as opposed to Christianity, there is no compulsion for the harmed party to forgive.) 

 

When you dont know what you dont know

 

Few areas are more critical to the security and well-being of young people than decent work. It impacts on every aspect of their lives: independence; mental health and well-being; and social interaction.

 

 

Image source

When I found myself managing a National Careers Institute grant to support young people from all backgrounds and experiences to thrive in a career in agriculture, the first thing I discovered was there was a great deal I did not know about this space and I was going to need a lot of support.

I am very grateful for that support and particularly grateful to the people who introduced me to the knowledge, expertise and support networks I now find myself surrounded by

Best practice principles put young people and employers at the centre of the experience. Source National Youth Employment Body

I have long been a fan of the communities of practice model where people with common goals work together for the greater good. This grant has allowed me to join one and I am grateful to the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Mission Australia  for the opportunity.

I am also very grateful to career education specialists Janine Wood from The Careers Department and Lucy Sattler from StudyWorkGrow for sharing their knowledge 
Image Source 

I am very grateful for the people who have identified best practice and shared their knowledge with me

I am very grateful to the Atlassian Foundation and Atlassian team members helping me master program management software .

I am also very grateful to long term team members Opal Heart Media and Ground Creative who look after our media and web services.

We are all working together to explore a model for agriculture that offers young people an enriching experience of work that sets them on the path to independence and future security.

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Action4Youth has three phases 

Young people as changemakers

“Just keep going”

“If I knew how hard it was I would never have started”

“If you believe in your heart that you need to do something, and you know in your heart it’s right… and especially when you’re in a position to make the change, you can’t back away from it,”

Quotes from people who inspire me.

Last night at the NSW Banksia Awards it all came full circle

In 2015 we had two Young Farming Champions determined to be agents of change and we had a big idea to crowd fund them to send them to COP 21 in Paris

That was when I found out Australian agriculture can be its own worst enemy

The main stream press were mega excited.

On the other hand believe it or not some very influential ( at the time ) rural press journalists and the stale, pale, male fraternity farmers on Twitter were very determined to assure the world these young people didn’t represent them.

The CEO of NFF at the time even wade in to assure his stale, pale, male base that these young people didn’t have his support

Last night these two young people took out the Youth as Changemakers Award at the NSW Banksia Awards

In fact half the award winners last night came from the agriculture sector. I am so grateful these young people had the determination and grit to stand up for what they believe in and inspire others to flex their courage muscle

And then there was this

Two of the four finalists in the Ministers Young Climate Champions Award were Kreative Koalas schools with St Brigid’s Primary School being named the winner

It is such a joy to work with young people. It is such a joy to work with their teachers. Extraordinary humans like the team at St Brigid’s and the Centre of Excellence

Hon.  Matt Kean announcing the Ministers Young Climate Champion Award

My advice.

Whoever inspires you. Just keep channeling their mantra

“Just keep going”

“If I knew how hard it was I would never have started”

“If you believe in your heart that you need to do something, and you know in your heart it’s right… and especially when you’re in a position to make the change, you can’t back away from it,”

21st century workplaces – Labour shortages, silo thinking, competition for the same talent pool – identifying the elephant in the room

Photo credit 

“If you believe in your heart that you need to do something, and you know in your heart it’s right… and especially when you’re in a position to make the change, you can’t back away from it,” Alison Mirams 

As reported in the Stock and Land “Dairy Australia has launched a national marketing campaign to attract new workers to the industry, after a survey found 25 per cent of farmers were unable to find labour or access workers with the required skills.

The survey found 22pc cent of farmers were unable to fill vacant positions, within three months, and 40pc had lost one, or more staff, in the 12 months prior to the survey.

You can see part of the campaign here

I truly hope it is successful and I would be very interested to see how Dairy Australia plan to monitor and evaluate its success. What ROI are they predicting?

I am sceptical as my experience agrees with Dr Nicole McDonald and her team and their excellent research that helps address the elephant in the room  “Career development and agriculture: we don’t need a marketing campaign”

Yesterday I attended a construction industry event. The key note was Alison Mirams ( awesome speaker, highly recommend)  Agriculture got a mention as an industry like construction not as ready to embrace 21st century challenges as it could be 

The conversations were interesting. Despite the keynote being a woman and the industry recognising attracting and retaining women could help address its workforce shortage ( 12.7% of construction industries people are women – same as 35 years ago) the sponsor representative used predominantly male language – “the guys in hi vis” the “blokes in the offices”

The Australian construction industry is in crisis. There are some startling stats beyond escalating costs of production ( I discovered the construction industry talks about REO costs like agriculture talks about fertiliser costs)

Stats like 1550 insolvencies and high rates of suicide (190 ppl)  per annum are heartbreaking. Young construction workers are ten times more likely to die by suicide than die from a workplace accident on a construction site.

Alison is on a mission to change the Culture Standard and is the chief crusader for the industry to have a 5 day working week.- Project 5 –  A weekend for every worker  Her message is “People are our Greatest Resource”. When we look  after the health and wellbeing of our people they will be more productive and she is working with the University of NSW to measure this. It hasn’t been easy with 75 rain days between Jan and July seeing a 54% productivity drop.

Getting back to the dairy industry and agriculture in general, my personal experience and 20 years of working with young people in the sector and in schools has shown me people want rewarding jobs where they feel the work they do makes a difference and they are valued for their contribution. In a world where young people’s career choices are more and more driven by their values  I think Alison Mirams has got it right.  We need to start with the elephant in the room – if you are going to employ people then firstly you need to be prepared to gain the 21st century skills that will earn your business top marks for “GREAT PLACE TO WORK”

We need to understand what drives people to make the career decisions they make.

Before we start spending mega bucks on marketing campaigns lets all ensure our industries are them image we want the world to see

We need to show we care.

In reality lets be honest the first stage ( not the last stage) would be upskilling employers ( see Dairy Australia stage process below )

It doesn’t matter what industry we are currently in there is a scarcity of labour in an overemployed market and I was heartened yesterday by the number of times the panel mentioned the power of collaboration

“If you believe in your heart that you need to do something, and you know in your heart it’s right… and especially when you’re in a position to make the change, you can’t back away from it,” Alison Mirams

Extract of article from Stock and Land 

DA regional services general manager Verity Ingham said the issue had been compounded by COVID-19 and the nationwide skills shortage, across a range of sectors beyond agriculture.

The campaign would promote the benefits of working in dairy farming and encourage Australians to explore a job in dairy.

Featuring dairy ambassador Jonathan Brown and seven dairy farmers, the campaign showcases why working in dairy matters, highlighting factors that have been shown to motivate people to consider a job in dairy.

“Competition for jobseekers in regional areas is fierce, so finding good, reliable people is a priority for dairy farmers,” Ms Ingham said.

“Keeping them is just as important.

Ms Ingham said coronavirus had an impact on both international and cross-border workers.

“Because there is such a range of jobs on dairy farms, closing international and state borders really stopped that flow of employees across the nation,” she said.

“Dairies are traditionally a place for that backpacker market and it burst quite quickly.”

DA looked to local markets but found many potential workers didn’t know what was required on farms.

Ms Ingham said the advertising campaign was the first step in a four-pronged approach to attracting, and retaining, workers.

“We’re going out into regional areas looking for non-traditional workers in the dairy industry, so not necessarily poaching from the beef or sheep farm, next door,” she said.

This would be followed by career education about dairy for school, university and TAFE students.

“The third and fourth parts are around supporting our farmers, connecting them with job agencies and places where there are job seekers,” she said.

“We’ll also be skilling the job agencies, so they know about dairy, and then connecting our farmers into those networks.”

The last stage would be skilling farmers in how to employ new staff

“It’s a little bit like becoming a cafe owner – you don’t necessarily start the cafe with looking for staff, you do it because you love coffee and cake,” Ms Ingham said.

“Farmers are often getting into farming, or even succession, because they love the outdoors, putting food on the table for the nation and animals – not necessarily to employ people.”.

DA was also setting up a pre-employment program, she said.

“We are working with those job agencies and networks, in terms of making sure that anybody who hasn’t been on a farm, or who has very little experience on farms, gets those really core skills,” she said.

“Once they land on dairy farms, they have got some of those basic skills, in terms of a skill set they need.”