A skills day held in Filipino dairy workers’ own languages will bridge a divide in skills development.

Filipino dairy workers in Southland can look forward to receiving training in Tagalog and Bisaya, the two most commonly spoken languages in the Philippines.

Lyzanne du Plessis, co-founder of Agri Teach Me, said after a successful farm bike safety workshop held for Nepalese workers earlier this year, the organisation is hosting effluent training for Southland’s Filipino dairy workers on November 20.

Agri Teach Me provides agricultural training using online video content followed by practical on-farm sessions.

“Language takes its time to develop but the need for a skill on farm is immediate,” Du Plessis said.

“We need to find a way to bridge that so we can have the immediate skill without having to wait for [English language skills] to develop.”

The four-hour practical training on effluent management at farm assistant level will be hosted on farm, and not in a classroom setting, making training more effective for learners with low level English, Du Plessis said.

Training topics include effluent consent and regulatory requirements, core effluent management skills, and basic maintenance and troubleshooting of pods and irrigators.

Handouts and training material will be in Tagalog and Bisaya.

The host farm is managed by a Filipino contract milker, who will tell the story of climbing the dairy ladder to contract-milk two farms, Du Plessis said.

Du Plessis said Agri Teach Me now being asked to host workshops in other languages.

You can now read the most important #news on #eDairyNews #Whatsapp channels!!!

🇺🇸 eDairy News INGLÊS: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaKsjzGDTkJyIN6hcP1K