Lack of staff is a myth! A brief overview of the situation on the labor market in the agricultural sector
The problem of staff shortages in the agricultural sector for many years has been considered one of the key in the industry. Farmers unanimously reiterate that their enterprises suffer from a shortage of employees at all levels - from managers and qualified specialists to milkmaids, tractor drivers and laborers.
HR market experts - representatives Consulting company "For agribusiness" Natalya Lunina (General Director) and Olga Prozorovskaya (Head of Human Resources Consulting) and today's guests of the Potato System magazine - believe that in fact there are enough people who want to realize themselves in the field of agriculture.
“Recently, on one of the industry portals, I saw a statement by the head of the farm, who complained that in the two spring months he talked with ten agronomists, but only two were able to hire, the rest did not meet the requirements. - says Olga Prozorovskaya. - The first conclusion I can draw on the basis of this information is that there are many specialists in the labor market: 10 agronomists are looking for work just before the season! And the second - the main problem of the sector is not the lack of personnel, but the insufficient level of their training.
About young personnel, practical skills and ... cockroaches
First of all, we are talking, of course, about recent graduates of agricultural universities. As noted by Natalia Lunina, the modern education system is often criticized for not training practitioners, and university graduates cannot immediately act as independent military units immediately after the university bench. According to the expert, such an assessment is not entirely fair. The main task of the educational system is to form a certain level of thinking among students, to teach them to search and analyze information. Future specialists, from the expert’s point of view, could get practical skills at special advanced training courses (longer and deeper than standard educational practice).
However, while there are no such courses, therefore, many companies (especially large ones) are engaged in the retraining of young employees on their own, "growing" stars in their team. Often, the recruitment agency has the following direct task: “You will find me a young agronomist without work experience. I’m better off putting my cockroaches in my head than he’ll come with strangers. ”
Objectively speaking, such training is the only way to get a specialist with all the knowledge and competencies to work in a particular company, at a particular workplace.
Knowledge is power!
Although, of course, not all employers are ready to spend time and money on training newcomers. Many companies see among their potential employees only professionals.
What today is included in the necessary baggage of a specialist with experience? According to the observations of Natalia Lunina, three components are of greatest importance: specialized knowledge in a certain direction (a university base is not enough here); skills in working with specialized software (for the livestock sector, these are specific programs that the company already works with; for crop production, understanding of the principles of working with such programs); knowledge of a foreign (mostly English) language. A good knowledge of the language is necessary if the company plans to send specialists to foreign business trips, to study in European countries or if there are foreigners among the leaders / founders.
A great plus for the candidate is also developed business communication skills (in particular, Internet communication with the help of increasingly popular instant messengers).
The search for the superman
Experts emphasize that the requirements for candidates for jobs in the agricultural sector in recent years have grown significantly. This is largely due to the complexity of the tasks facing the industry - for example, the introduction of digitalization, and as a result, the emergence of a number of new professions (for example, vacancies have appeared for specialists in precision farming, robotics engineers, drone operators, etc.).
Another reason for expanding the list of requirements for applicants can be called the arrival of large agricultural holdings on the market, focusing on their strict standards. Although an uncompromising approach to the selection of a specialist, Olga Prozorovskaya is sure, does not always help the company make the right decision. Say, noting a candidate with successful experience in a company’s profile, but without a higher education diploma, you can “present” a highly qualified specialist to competitors.
The season of "hunting" for workers
But what can be called permanent is the growth / fall of demand waves for specialists depending on the time of year, which is quite natural for a seasonal business.
In terms of market activity, Natalya Lunina calls “dead” August and September: for breeders, this is the vacation period, for the crop sector, harvesting time, followed by the stages of summing up and paying bonuses. The activity in the personnel market in the crop sector is reviving by November, and this is the best time to look for, for example, an agronomist: during the winter months, the specialist will have time to get on track.
Although the expert notes that not all farms adhere to such an opinion: many try to save money and delay the invitation of a new employee until February-March (bypassing another “dead” month on the calendar - January), but by this period many good specialists, as a rule, already employed.
Of course, the expert agrees, it happens that during the winter a person manages to understand that something does not suit him at the new workplace and enters the labor market again, but these are isolated cases.
Work in agriculture is a vocation
Returning to the issue of personnel problems in the agricultural sector, Olga Prozorovskaya notes that according to her observations, the agricultural sector is currently not considered attractive in the eyes of university graduates, including agricultural ones. Young people are not eager to work in the outback, rightly pointing to the lack of schools, hospitals, sports and entertainment clubs; difficulties with housing. Now only those who feel that their calling is in labor on earth are ready to go to the village. But employers who are interested in personnel can do a lot to change. If people create normal living conditions, candidates will fight for vacancies. Moreover, in the era of technological development (for example, distance learning) to solve many issues will not require huge investments.
Future projections
Talking about the prospects for today, when the future seems particularly uncertain, is difficult. But nevertheless, the experts of the Consulting Company “For AIC” believe that the whole world expects a new surge in interest in agriculture, since the supply of food to the world's population will depend on this sector. Of course, new solutions and, of course, working hands will be required.
Ahead are the main stages of sowing, agricultural enterprises will be in great need of personnel. They will accept everyone. True, so far after a two-week quarantine.
About Consulting Company “For AIC”
It was founded in 2009. The company specializes in recruiting personnel for agricultural enterprises. The result of the work is more than 300 successful projects in the agricultural sector.
Jobs and resumes are posted on two Internet portals: kk-apk.ru и agro-job.ru
Specialists of the company often act as experts in the media, covering acute “personnel” problems. The Potato System magazine also plans to expand cooperation and provide the company with a platform for the continuous publication of articles on the prospects for market development, the successful experience of various companies in resolving personnel issues, the dynamics of salaries in the industry, etc. We hope that the stated topics will be interesting to our readers.