The reality of a career in the dairy industry: an employee’s perspective: a survey of New Zealand dairy farm staff

All industries within New Zealand are experiencing pressure to find the quality and quantity of people to do the work. In order for the New Zealand dairy industry to be attractive to people in a tight labour market, there needs to be an alignment between the needs of the farming businesses and the needs of the people doing the work. The objectives of this report are: 1. To get an indication of the overall job satisfaction experienced by dairy farm employees under the age of thirty in their job. 2. To get an indication of the degree to which farm jobs are meeting the top five career objectives of younger people as identified by Barbara Kuriger (2001). 3. To see if dairy farm jobs are operating on a professional and legal level, through the use of employment contracts and job descriptions. 4. To get an indication of the level of staff management skills of dairy farm employers.