Business

Welcome to the arable industry, the industry that feeds New Zealanders and underpins our vital pastoral industries. The Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is looking for graduates interested in a career within the arable industry. Our new Graduate Programme has been specifically designed to introduce you to all aspects of the industry from agronomy to marketing. We are looking for: Graduates with a degree in science, agriculture or agricultural commerce who want a career working with some of the world’s best cropping farmers. We are offering you the opportunity to: • Learn about all aspects of the New Zealand cropping industry. • Spend time with experienced agronomists and internationally recognised researchers. • FAR and industry placements, making connections throughout New Zealand. FAR’s Graduate Programme will run for 12 months, offering successful candidates the opportunity to view our research across New Zealand and Australia and to spend time with cropping businesses across New Zealand. At the end of the programme, you will have developed a good knowledge of all the factors driving the New Zealand arable industry and a clear idea of how you see your career progressing within it. A competitive salary will be offered. Apply now Download application form from http://www.far.org.nz/index.php/careers and return it to Mel Bond bondm@far.org.nz.

New Zealand’s leading analytical testing laboratory, Hill Laboratories, has appointed Lorrae Taylor as client services manager for the organisation’s Food and Bioanalytical division. Lorrae Taylor has nearly four decades of nationwide experience working in laboratories, or with laboratories to provide proficiency services testing. Lorrae Taylor said Hill Laboratories’ client services teams, which are effective in all three of the company’s divisions, are what sets the organisation apart from most other analytical testing laboratories. “At Hill Laboratories we recognise that clients often have queries about the testing process, so we have strong client services teams to provide guidance on the best testing to meet client’s needs,” she said. Lorrae Taylor began her career at Bay of Plenty Cooperative Milk Producers Ltd, a Te Puke dairy laboratory where she spent 17 years first as a lab technician and eventually as lab supervisor. Following this she undertook the role of laboratory manager at multi species processing facility Affco in Rangiuru, where she remained for six years. When Affco began outsourcing its laboratory work, Lorrae Taylor relocated to Hamilton where she spent the next five years managing microbiological testing laboratory Food Scientific Ltd. Immediately prior to her new position with Hill Laboratories, Lorrae Taylor worked for 10 years as a microbiologist and then Dairy programme leader for laboratory proficiency provider Global Proficiency. Two other client service managers complete Hill Laboratories’ Food and Bioanalytical client services team. Hill Laboratories is a 100 per cent privately owned New Zealand analytical testing laboratory and has three major testing areas: Agriculture, Environmental and Food. With its main site in Hamilton, the company currently has four sites in the North Island, two in the South Island, and an office in Japan.

The Employers and Manufacturers Association extend hearty congratulations to the re-election of Prime Minister John Key and National. “Business will be pleased and relieved with the re-election of the government,” said EMA chief executive Kim Campbell. “We will now be looking for accelerated attention coming to bear on unfinished business,” he said. “In particular business will be seeking urgency to enact the Employment Relations Amendment Bill and speedy reform of the Resource Management Act. “As mooted we also want to see early progress on simplifying the tax system for SMEs, more emphasis on industry relevant skills, and more invested in innovation, science and R&D, plus co-ordinated action to boost exports. “New Zealanders knew what was at stake in the election and voted for retaining what they know is working to create a stable environment for business and jobs. “With the international scene so highly volatile, New Zealanders understand the need for certainty is vital for our future standards of living. “Clearly they get it. It was always about the economy, never about the background noise.”

Agribusiness decision makers, on the farm and in horticulture, have identified they want better business development opportunities for themselves and their team – and the Diploma in Agribusiness Management is meeting this demand. The qualification delivered by Aoraki Polytechnic, in partnership with Primary ITO, uses new learning technologies to help students add meaningful capability to their agribusiness. The first intake of students is two months into their learning, which has been very different to the traditional class-room based learning that is the norm. Mike Parr is one of Aoraki’s dedicated agribusiness tutors, working in Timaru, Ashburton and Oamaru. He has spent the first six weeks of the Diploma helping students gather evidence for the ‘ACCK’ process (‘Assessment of Current Competency and Knowledge’). Aoraki Polytechnic is the first organisation to use ACCK in agribusiness. This innovative method identifies that many people may already be skilled in many areas of their business, and this enables students to learn what they need to learn, rather than starting from scratch. Each student compiles a portfolio of evidence, which they can then choose to put forward for assessment. ACCK is a process of identifying previous experience, knowledge and transferrable skills sets and gaining recognition. It is an excellent way to fill-in gaps in skill-sets. “The purpose behind the ACCK process is to highlight to the student ‘Yes, I have covered this,’ or ‘There’s a whole lot of stuff that I don’t know’. It’s a navel-gazing exercise to look quite hard at themselves, at what they have learned, and what they need to learn,” says Mike. To kick-start their agribusiness learning, students attended a one-day workshop which showcased the software programme they’ll use throughout the Diploma. The online learning platform called ‘Moodle’ allows the student to learn at their own pace, at a time that is […]