Australia’s cotton sector faces up to worker shortage
Industry body Cotton Australia is taking action to help solve what it calls one of the sector’s most enduring challenges, the shortage of seasonal workers.
It has set up a new online jobs service to connect cotton growers to prospective employees. Cotton farmers will be able to post details of vacancies on the site and view applications, which job-seekers will be able to submit to the site using a simple online form. Queensland’s state government has helped fund the project.
Cotton Australia’s chief executive, Adam Kay, said the jobs website would play a key role in addressing seasonal labour shortages, which he said had been triggered by the covid-19 pandemic.
He added that working on an Australian cotton farm was “highly rewarding”, with most growers offering “interesting roles with great conditions”.
“This season we’re forecasting a crop in excess of 4.5 million bales,” Mr Kay continued, “which means our growers will be very busy producing our sustainable, high-quality cotton. That means our workforce shortages will really start to bite unless we get applicants filling the jobs that are available.”
“We really look forward to growers fully utilizing this new tool and seeing a flood of job seekers applying through Cotton Jobs Australia to head out on farm and take up the exciting roles, now and into the future, in our industry.”
