2 February 2006
Recruitment Campaign Invites a Closer Look at Dairying
A campaign designed to encourage people thinking about a career change to take a closer look at opportunities in
dairying begins next week.
Spearheaded by television exposure and supported by print and radio advertising the campaign, funded by Dairy InSight,
is the third phase a promotional program, begun in 2004, and designed to lift the profile of dairying with the wider
community.
“We need to attract new, motivated people into the industry,” Dairy InSight chairman Doug Leeder said, announcing the
campaign today.
“Farmers are acutely aware of this issue. It comes up again and again in surveys as one of their major concerns. Recent
studies confirm the seriousness of the problem for the industry.”
He said the campaign would target in particular those in their 20s and 30s who were contemplating a change of career and
who might be attracted by the lifestyle factors, the rewards available and the opportunity to take control of their own
destiny which the dairy industry offered.
“Herds and farms are becoming larger and more complex. As a consequence of trends such as these, the number of possible
career paths and career development opportunities in dairying is growing,” Mr Leeder said.
The campaign would be based around “real people working on real farms,” letting some of those who have made the switch
to dairying tell their own stories. It would encourage motivated individuals to take a closer look at what the industry
had to offer.
Mr Leeder said those featured in the campaign had moved into dairying from a wide variety of backgrounds. :
”Among those we hear from are a former retail store manager, an avionics technician, an earthmover, a coolstore manager,
a salesperson and a professional rower. The one thing they all had in common when they entered the dairy industry was a
preparedness to get stuck in and give it a go.”
Mr Leeder said a key feature of the campaign would be the provision of an easily accessible response centre, capable of
providing balanced and comprehensive information to those who inquire further.
“Those prompted by the advertising to request more information will get a timely and personalised response to their
inquiry.
“The dairy industry urgently needs to recruit more motivated and enterprising people. The purpose of this campaign is to
show such people – and their families – just what the industry can offer them,” Mr Leeder said.
ENDS