Skills and Labour Review analysis
Skills and Labour Needs Review Analysis – March, 2012.
A shortage of skilled workers in the agricultural industries in Queensland has been identified by several Government and industry bodies. However, it is acknowledged that accurate figures have not been available as to the number of workers required and the skills which they need to possess. In an attempt to remedy this AgForce conducted a survey designed to discover the present skills and labour shortages and the future labour and skills needs as well as the impediments and challenges facing the broadacre beef, sheep and wool, grains and cotton industries in Queensland.
The Skills and Labour Needs Review survey was conducted from September to December 2011 against the backdrop of the recovery from the 2010/2011 natural disasters which caused widespread devastation in these broadacre industries. The shortage of skilled employees across these regions has slowed the recovery process. Further floods in February 2012 have again devastated the communities of central, southern inland and south western Queensland.
The survey was developed and analysed by the AgForce Jobs and Skills Development Officer (JSDO) under the Natural Disasters Jobs and Skills Package project which was a joint Queensland and Australian Government initiative.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics for the 2009-2010 year indicated that 15,846 enterprises, solely dedicated to agricultural production, were engaged in broadacre (beef, grain, sheep & wool, cotton) agricultural production in Queensland.
The list of skills which respondents identified as being necessary to run an efficient enterprise illustrated the complex nature of modern broadacre agriculture. The need for a significant number of multi skilled full time employees was identified as was a trend to the use of casual and part time employees and the increased use of contractors. Concerns were expressed as to the source of these additional people and the standard of the training they can access. Many of the increasing numbers of casual and part time workers will be required in areas that are a considerable distance from major population centres which raises questions of relocation, and of occupation for workers in the quiet times. A number of respondents suggested improved access to back packers and overseas workers to accommodate this issue.
The greatest impediments to recruiting staff, the greatest challenges facing broadacre agriculture and the expected impacts on broadacre enterprises in the next five years were identified. Enterprise viability was seen as the most important issue in this context with Government policy and regulation as the second most important, the availability of sufficiently skilled staff was significant particularly as an impediment to recruitment. Competition from the mining and CSG industries was seen as an important issue in Local Government Areas exposed to a high level of activity from these industries and it is likely that the availability of sufficiently skilled staff had been exacerbated by these industries.
The findings that Government policy and regulation were seen as an impediment, challenge and impact on broadacre agricultural enterprises supports the findings of the AgForce report Key Environmental Constraints Affecting Queensland Agriculture of March, 2012.
Download a full copy of the Skills and Labour Review here.
The findings from the 2011 AgForce Skills and Labour Review survey are:
A shortage of skilled workers in the agricultural industries in Queensland has been identified by several Government and industry bodies. However, it is acknowledged that accurate figures have not been available as to the number of workers required and the skills which they need to possess. In an attempt to remedy this AgForce conducted a survey designed to discover the present skills and labour shortages and the future labour and skills needs as well as the impediments and challenges facing the broadacre beef, sheep and wool, grains and cotton industries in Queensland.
The Skills and Labour Needs Review survey was conducted from September to December 2011 against the backdrop of the recovery from the 2010/2011 natural disasters which caused widespread devastation in these broadacre industries. The shortage of skilled employees across these regions has slowed the recovery process. Further floods in February 2012 have again devastated the communities of central, southern inland and south western Queensland.
The survey was developed and analysed by the AgForce Jobs and Skills Development Officer (JSDO) under the Natural Disasters Jobs and Skills Package project which was a joint Queensland and Australian Government initiative.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics for the 2009-2010 year indicated that 15,846 enterprises, solely dedicated to agricultural production, were engaged in broadacre (beef, grain, sheep & wool, cotton) agricultural production in Queensland.
The list of skills which respondents identified as being necessary to run an efficient enterprise illustrated the complex nature of modern broadacre agriculture. The need for a significant number of multi skilled full time employees was identified as was a trend to the use of casual and part time employees and the increased use of contractors. Concerns were expressed as to the source of these additional people and the standard of the training they can access. Many of the increasing numbers of casual and part time workers will be required in areas that are a considerable distance from major population centres which raises questions of relocation, and of occupation for workers in the quiet times. A number of respondents suggested improved access to back packers and overseas workers to accommodate this issue.
The greatest impediments to recruiting staff, the greatest challenges facing broadacre agriculture and the expected impacts on broadacre enterprises in the next five years were identified. Enterprise viability was seen as the most important issue in this context with Government policy and regulation as the second most important, the availability of sufficiently skilled staff was significant particularly as an impediment to recruitment. Competition from the mining and CSG industries was seen as an important issue in Local Government Areas exposed to a high level of activity from these industries and it is likely that the availability of sufficiently skilled staff had been exacerbated by these industries.
The findings that Government policy and regulation were seen as an impediment, challenge and impact on broadacre agricultural enterprises supports the findings of the AgForce report Key Environmental Constraints Affecting Queensland Agriculture of March, 2012.
Download a full copy of the Skills and Labour Review here.
The findings from the 2011 AgForce Skills and Labour Review survey are:
- Major Finding: Combining all the information in the responses and assuming the survey is representative of the whole of broadacre businesses solely engaged in agriculture across Queensland, it is estimated that the additional labour requirements over the next 2 years will be 5,845 full time employees and 17,431 part time or casual employees.
- Key Finding 1: 80.4 per cent of total respondents across Queensland were severely or moderately affected by the natural disasters of summer 2010/2011.
- Key Finding 2: An average of 2.39 family members or business partners are employed full time in each business enterprise in the Queensland broadacre agricultural industries.
- Key Finding 3: South East Queensland and Southern Inland Queensland regions with intensive smaller sized enterprises in relation to state averages indicated they employ an average of 1.71 full time and 3.96 part time or casual employees per enterprise. This is compared to the other areas of the state where enterprises employ on average 2.57 full time and 2.08 part time or casual employees in the broadacre agricultural industries.
- Key Finding 4: The total number of people employed in broadacre agriculture in Queensland is 42,621, an increase of 30.4 per cent since 2007-2008.
- Key Finding 5: The use of skilled contractors in broadacre agricultural enterprises is high with three quarters of the enterprises or the equivalent of 11,647 of the total 15,846 enterprises state wide stating they use contractors on a regular basis with high demand skills being fencing, yard building, crop harvesting/planting and ground mustering of livestock.
- Key Finding 6: Two thirds of enterprises across the state, being 10,078 enterprises, employ casual labour. More than half of these enterprises engage horse and motor bike livestock musters on a casual employment basis in their enterprises.
- Key Finding 7: An average of 4.39 part time or casual employees per enterprise are expected to be employed in the next two years in Queensland broadacre agricultural industries plus an average of 2.46 full time employees and nearly 4 contactors per enterprise.
- Key Finding 8: An increased average of 0.42 full time employees and 1.44 part time/casual employees are required per enterprise over the next two years in Queensland broadacre agricultural industries.
- Key Finding 9: Over the next two years the total number of suitably skilled contractors used in broadacre agricultural enterprises may be as high as 45,423.
- Key Finding 10: Business, financial and land management along with rural safety, succession planning, computer use and chemical/nutrient application were identified as the key skills required for owners, managers and family members in broadacre agricultural enterprises.
- Key Finding 11: Rural safety and OH&S skills, heavy machinery/tractor operation along with animal safety and husbandry are viewed as vital operational skills for all broadacre agricultural workers (permanent, casual employees and contractors) for the efficient operation of broadacre agriculture. The health and safety of rural workers rated in the top five skill categories required by all levels of management, family, workers and contractors showing the importance placed on this matter by employers engaged in broadacre agriculture.
- Key Finding 12: The availability of suitably skilled people is the greatest impediment to recruiting and employing staff in the broadacre agricultural industries.
- Key Finding 13: Increasing production and labour costs and low commodity prices are the greatest challenges for sustained viability for enterprises in the broadacre agricultural industries.
- Key Finding 14: The affordability and availability of suitably skilled staff are the greatest challenges impacting the immediate labour needs of the broadacre agricultural industries in Queensland.
- Key Finding 15: The major impacts on enterprises in the next 5 years are felt to be government regulation and policy, while financial viability was identified by half the respondents as an impact. Additionally almost one third identified the availability of suitably skilled employees as an impact on their enterprise.
- Key Finding 16: A third of respondents felt that broadacre agricultural businesses were getting more complex and that owners and managers would need improved skills in the areas of finance, business, water and land management along with adapting to new technology, managing risk and OH&S responsibilities.