1. MEDIA RELEASE
Topic:
Skills Shortage
National Register
Agriculture/Agribusiness
NATIONAL SKILLS REGISTER FOR AUSTRALIAN AG
A new initiative called the National Skills Register for Australian Ag (NSR) has been launched to solve the
mismatch between people that are available to work in the agricultural production and agribusiness
industry; and employers saying they can’t find enough people to fill positions.
The Australian agricultural production and agribusiness industry needs to be more creative about how it
resources its future people-needs. That’s the message from Jeremy Lomman, Managing Director and Owner
of the SOS Group.
“Educators, recruiters, employers and Government have been diagnosing the issue of workforce shortages in
the industry for a long time now” said Lomman. “The neglected element of these discussions has been the
unheard-voice of the people that are actually available to work.”
“We need to be hearing from these people to get more clarity on the issue. There are mixed-messages.”
The NSR is designed for people that are unemployed, under-employed or that are independent professionals
available to work in agricultural production or the extended agribusiness industry beyond the farm gate that
includes various sectors such as food, fibre, wine, aquaculture and primary production inputs. The NSR is also
available to people that would like to enter the industry for the first time.
Lomman says that the NSR was created to give these people a combined voice and to capture real market data
about the actual size of the pool of skills and experience available to the agricultural production and extended
agribusiness industry in Australia.
“The feedback we receive will paint a picture about the level of current skills availability in the industry, where
in the industry these skills are located and at what level” said Lomman. “Once we have the facts, we can
develop a way of effectively redeploying available skills and experience to where they are most needed.”
Lomman says his goal is to support regional growth by creating contemporary methods that help the industry
to adjust its’ traditional approach towards human resourcing and that also support peoples’ search for work.
“Other countries have developed what you might call a ‘peripheral workforce’ and I think there is an
opportunity for the Australian agricultural production and agribusiness industry to head down a similar path.”
Lomman anticipates the findings of the NSR will show that the true market for available skills and experience is
not as tight as people think; and will highlight some of the nuances regarding actual demand for people.”
People that have been actively seeking work in the agricultural production or agribusiness industry and want
to improve their search for work, are encouraged to register their details at www.nationalskillsregister.com.au
or refer someone they know to the web site.
All media contact regarding this Media Release strictly through: Jeremy Lomman – SOS Group on 0417 567 148
or jeremy@sosinterim.com.au.