The stress of finding work in the off season will soon be eased for southern meat workers, thanks to an industry stakeholders and Work and Income initiative.
Discussions about a marketplace scheme for seasonal workers have been taking place during the past year and development is well under way.
The scheme aims to identify full-time employment for meat industry workers during their off season.
Winz southern labour market manager Paul Casson said the idea came about as a response to a need for a more co-ordinated approach to off-season work.
The overall vision was, in five years, to have a co-operative established where meat workers could go, have their skill set matched to an off-season job and start work the next day.
"We are connecting people to jobs now, but down the track, we want to be smarter with our resources," Mr Casson said.
Meeting the demands of both employees and employers was key to providing greater certainty, retaining jobs and raising productivity, he said.
Depending on stock levels, weather and the economy, 10 meat processing plants operated in the southern region for between five and 10 months a year.
Most plants started letting workers go for the off season from April, before bringing them back in late September, he said.
Some people secured work over the off-season themselves, but a "significant amount" approached Work and Income for help.
A survey of meat workers revealed they all had "good transferable skills", including those from the building, automotive, engineering and farming sectors, and were willing to travel to meet the demands of employers.
It was also hoped employers would think differently about their business operations, knowing an influx of short-term workers would come at a certain time of year.
Key stakeholders included the Department of Labour, Alliance Group Ltd, Silver Fern Farms, Venture Southland, Federated Farmers, the New Zealand Meat Workers Union, and representatives from chambers of commerce, forestry, horticulture, viticulture, hospitality, tourism and the wool and shearing industries.
"It is an across-the-board strategic driver to address the issue," Mr Casson said.
