RSE conference a valuable vehicle for making connections

Rachael Trimble, HR manager for DMS Progrowers, is looking forward to hearing the Government’s update on the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme at HortNZ’s RSE conference in Tauranga on 28 August.

“I am excited to hear what they have to say,” says Rachael.

DMS provides both orchard management and packhouse services for kiwifruit and avocados and Rachael says that when she first joined the company five years ago, as well as being new to the industry, the conference provided a good learning experience for her.

Now, as well as being able to get the latest updates, she also values it as an opportunity to meet up with RSE connections from throughout New Zealand and the Pacific.

“I sit across the business in all things people related which includes the RSE portfolio. Jacqui Ellingham leads the RSE team as RSE manager and she has two pastoral care workers who look after the RSE teams from a personal perspective and our operations teams look after the workers from an employment perspective.

“When I first came into the role, RSE was new to me. The conference interested me as a learning resource but possibly more importantly, I found it very valuable for making connections.

“The RSE Scheme is unique, it crosses both employment and family boundaries, so the connections with other RSE employers and being able to share and learn from each other together is really useful.

“The industry is very good at that. Even though we compete as businesses, we communicate and collaborate in ways that are truly unique. It’s been a fast changing landscape, especially over the past five years with COVID-19, policy changes, legislative changes and Government changes.

“The conference offers an opportunity to meet up with a wide range of people that you might talk to or email regularly, but may not have met face-to-face, including those we have joint Authority to Recruit (ATR) arrangements with and representatives from the labour sending units that we work with.”

“More of our Pacific representatives have been coming over for the conference over the past couple of years and that has been really good, sharing ideas and experiences to make the RSE Scheme even better for our workers.”