Greenlife Industry Australia, Media Release, 2 August 2021
Greenlife Industry Australia has today unveiled its new Careers Hub, an online platform which aims to attract the next generation of talent to the nursery industry.
The Greenlife Industry Careers Hub offers a portal to a series of resources relating to careers, education and professional development, to support the attraction, development and retention of workers in the greenlife industry.
The nursery production industry is one of the largest sectors of horticulture and is valued at over $2.6 billion. However, the industry is working to address the challenges arising from an ageing workforce, according to Greenlife Industry Australia CEO, Peter Vaughan.
“The average age in the nursery production industry is 54, with 85% of employees being over the age of 39, meaning a significant proportion of the workforce will need to be replaced over the coming years,” he said.
“We have a powerful story to tell, and we want the next generation to be a part of it.
“The greenlife industry is providing the canopy cover and shade that will keep our cities cool as the urban heat island effect takes hold of our cities. Our industry helps regenerate, restore and reinvigorate impacted and sensitive environmental areas. And perhaps most importantly, as we have seen during COVID-19, greenlife positively contributes to the physical and mental health and well-being of all Australians through parks, gardens, recreational areas and indoor plants.”
In order to help articulate the industry’s value proposition to job seekers and their advisors, the Careers Hub includes a range of resources including information on career pathways within the industry, education and training services, links to professional development opportunities as well as a job board for employers and employees. Resources like the careers pathways case studies, online workshop and presentations have been funded under the strategic, levy-funded project ‘Developing Nursery Career Pathways’ (NY19006).
The hub has been designed with the interests of the industry in mind and follows a period of close consultation with the sector to identify barriers to the attraction of talent.
According to Peter, the industry’s focus on people will reap long-term benefits for the entire industry.
“An injection of fresh talent, from diverse backgrounds with unique skill sets and fresh ideas will secure a productive future workforce for the greenlife industry,” he said.
“Whether it be production nursery managers, plant breeders, soil scientists, horticulturalists or retailers, there is a career path for everyone within our industry and our arms are open.
The Hub will also look to support careers within the nursery industry by acting as a repository for a range of professional development, education and scholarship opportunities.
The Greenlife Industry Careers Hub is now live and can be accessed here: https://www.greenlifeindustry.com.au/greenlife-careers-hub/greenlife-careers.
The ‘Developing Nursery Career Pathways’ (NY19006) project is funded by Hort Innovation using nursery research and development levy and funds from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.
