![]() ![]() He’s now about to set out on a tour of Queensland operating harvesters for the next few months. Then he noticed farming jobs popping up on websites and Facebook pages usually reserved for pilots. You even have to be a certified to be a barista these days, it’s crazy.” “My only qualifications are flying aeroplanes. There are heaps of people from aviation just wandering around needing jobs.”īut it wasn’t easy for pilots to pick up work, the Tweed Heads local told. “Ordinarily people would just get another flying job but they’re having to look into other areas. Mr Shepherd was laid off from Virgin Australia’s low cost off – shoot Tigerair in April, after 30 years piloting with airlines from the UK to Indonesia. ‘YOU NEED TO BE CERTIFIED TO BE A BARISTA, IT’S CRAZY’ He was laid off when Tiger’s owner Virgin went bust. He hoped that the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic may broaden some people’s career horizons. Nonetheless, Mr Heagney said it was still a “struggle” to attract people to farming. “On top of that you get housing, many get a vehicle, and we have high speed internet on the farm so we can watch Netflix quicker than the city no problems there.” And it’s all upwards from there with a manager of a property on $100,000-$150,000. “An entry level farm hand could be looking at $60,000-$80,000 a year. If they have a good attitude and are willing to work and learn new skills, that’s a great start.”Īnd it could be quite a lucrative little earner, Mr Heagney said. The image of someone in a flannelette shirt holding a pitchfork is not what farming is now,” he said. “There are plenty of jobs and it’s not all necessarily picking, it can be quite high tech. “It’s always difficult to find good people but this year it’s been heightened by coronavirus and the lack of backpackers. Fruit and veggie farms might need hundreds of extra staff to pick the crop. It usually has about 10 full time staff but during the winter harvest, kicking in now, it needs up to six times that number, he told. The farm, about 100kms north west of Moree, grows wheat, barley, chick peas and cattle. Sam Heagney is a farm manager at South Bunarba Agriculture at Mungindi on the Queensland – New South Wales border. Farmers need both full time staff and contractors to pick this year’s winter harvest. ![]()
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