Page 18 - Food&Drink Nov-Dec 2020

IN THE WORKPLACE
Adapting to a changing labour market
The labour market has been ever changing in 2020. APG Workforce national business development manager Neil Bentham takes a look back on the labour requirement phases of COVID-19.
So instead of young people travelling around the country living in large communal accommodation, we’ve had to source workers in regional areas to meet the demand.
Our focus is on finding workers within a one-hour radius of the work, so they don’t need to relocate. A lot of these roles will only last six weeks but we have found plenty of people stepping up because they want to work even if they qualify for the various welfare payments.
Some areas like north Queensland have fared better because some backpackers didn’t leave Australia when the pandemic hit. But we’ve still been providing workers in locations like Mareeba in the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland to pick pumpkins, mangoes, and lychees.
We are also working with primary producers who are closer to the cities like Green Camel in the Camden region on Sydney’s outskirts where they grow cucumbers and tomatoes.
We worked with Green Camel’s compliance and labour manager Monique De Wet in what was a particularly stressful time. COVID-19 restrictions meant the producer couldn’t hire its normal labour force. Using an agency like ours was not part of De Wet’s normal process and it was critical for us
WHEN the pandemic started, no one could have predicted the effect it would have on the food and beverage industry.
The first phase saw increased demand for staff when customers cleared supermarket shelves in a frenzied spending spree. This was followed by a decrease in staffing needs. Then came a gradual increase as the food industry began to return to normal levels, albeit with changes.
The first part of the pandemic saw a surge in demand for staff in supermarkets and the food businesses that supply the grocery sector. This was obviously coupled with a huge decline in the hospitality sector, but overall it was still an increase because many people panicked and bought much more food than they required for their normal short-term consumption.
For a company like APG
Workforce, we had to put systems in place to recruit staff without any physical contact, and then redeploy employees from industries that were shut down – like the airline industry – into the food supply sector.
That initial huge spike was then followed by a small decrease when it became clear there would be continued access to supermarkets even during lockdown periods.
Since then the labour market in the food industry has remained fairly steady but there have been some unexpected areas of demand. For example, in Victoria where food processors were required to reduce the number of staff working at any one time. This meant many food processors put on two shifts, one day and one night, requiring extra employees to spread the workforce and
minimise the risk.
While many businesses have
struggled during the pandemic, the last eight months has brought new clients to APG Workforce because of the changing nature of the labour market. We’ve picked up new
“ We’ve picked up new clients who’ve never used labour hire companies
like ours before. So it has been a big educational experience for us and them.”
clients who’ve never used labour hire companies like ours before. So it has been a big educational experience for us and them.
The lack of overseas workers is also having an impact particularly with primary producers who have relied on ‘backpacker’ workers in the past.
to understand what their labour needs were depending on the crop being harvested.
But it is not over yet. We are also mindful that this year’s Christmas season may be different from any other we’ve previously experienced, so we are ready to adapt – again – as it unfolds. ✷
18 | Food&Drink business | November-December 2020 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au