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The Irish Farmers Journal Agri Careers Expo takes place this week on St Valentine’s Day, 14 February, and our Irish Country Living careers editor Anthony Jordan has been at pains to apologise to the ‘other halves’ regarding the timing of the event.
I am sure, however, that most of the other halves would consider it a successful day should a job be secured at the event.
Ten years ago, many relationships were under duress as the stress of the crash crippled the jobs market.
These are again troubled times for employers and employees in the sector as the Brexit uncertainty continues.
Although it is very welcome news that the number of people employed in Ireland has increased, the recovery in the economy has caused difficulties when trying to secure workers in the agri industry
Enterprise Ireland has warned that some 25,000 Irish jobs are vulnerable to the impact of a hard Brexit, suggesting also that the food sector is at particular risk, with tariffs the biggest potential issue facing Irish exporters.
However, the state agency also pointed out that the vast majority of its client companies have taken action to protect themselves from the fallout of Britain’s exit from the EU.
The number of companies attending, the number and variety of jobs available and the level of registrations for the event show that there is still a lot of love for the industry despite Brexit.
Although it is very welcome news that the number of people employed in Ireland has increased, the recovery in the economy has caused difficulties when trying to secure workers in the agri industry.
In the past, much of the work on the farm was carried out by family labour, but today with off-farm work being more common for at least one partner, careers and relationships can, in today’s working environment, be at odds. This can play into multiple facets of life, such as participation in off-farm activities too.
For example, this was a comment made to me by one of the senior voluntary officers in the IFA a few weeks back: “Well it was different then Amii, my wife and I worked this farm together, we were together all day. But now my son is home working the farm all day on his own and his wife is working off the land. It was OK for me to go out to meetings in the evenings as we had the day – those days are gone and it’s harder for young people to commit to things like the IFA as their time together is limited.”
There is great camaraderie and company in this scenario but it doesn’t work for all farms or relationships
I was calling around as part of my remit as chair of the IFA’s Diversity Committee, which is to find and address barriers that would see more women participate in the IFA. Time is stretched and ability to commit to voluntary activities, even those in support of the business, is difficult.
There are many strong farming partnerships, couples who work their farms together as was more the norm in the past.
There is great camaraderie and company in this scenario but it doesn’t work for all farms or relationships. Where both parties have the interest and the farm can provide a sufficient income for the family, this works, whereas other couples work best in their own areas of expertise.
No matter what way people choose to work their enterprises, the bottom line is that we have 137,500 farms in this country and no matter who owns them, male or female, or works them, full or part time, family is at the heart of them.
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