Gavin Stagg has joined peak body New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers (NZKGI) as a labour co-ordinator.
The newly created role will see Stagg manage seasonal recruitment initiatives in conjunction with growers, contractors and packhouses to ensure the sector’s worker requirements are met.
A former New Zealand Army chef and hospitality industry manager, Stagg joined the kiwifruit industry in 2012, working in operations management roles at Mount Pack and Cool and more recently Birchwood Packhouse in Tauranga.
“NZKGI has a massive challenge to try to ensure we have sufficient workers to get all the fruit off the vines – for this season and all our future ones,” Stagg said. “I’m excited by the initiatives already underway and the opportunities to build a collaborative response to the labour demands.”
NZKGI chief executive Nikki Johnson said Stagg’s appointment was a key part of the organisation’s labour recruitment strategy.
“With the harvest now poised to begin, Gavin will be working closely with the groups we’ve been reaching out to, to support our labour drive, and helping us process the many queries we’re now getting via social media about jobs in the industry.”
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