Conference a watershed for agriculture The Agriculture ITO agribusiness conference Developing Our People has the potential to be a turning point in the evolution of New Zealand's agricultural workforce, according to the organisation's chief executive, Kevin Bryant. Mr Bryant and Agriculture ITO business development manager Fred Hardy will present the results of two years of research into the economic value that training adds to farming businesses, the industry and society as a whole. "Measurement of the return on investment in training has long been a thorny issue. Farmers, like anyone else, want to know what they're getting for the money and time they invest in training themselves and their employees. "Our model is ground-breaking. It shows clear, measurable, returns on investment that reinforce training as a strategic tool in achieving any enterprise's goals." The research is being peer-reviewed by Robert Brinkerhoff, a world expert on making learning pay, who has accepted an invitation to speak at the conference. Mr Bryant says the point of the conference is not to hear people talk theory. "This is a first for those in the industry concerned about developing and retaining the workforce we need to keep New Zealand Agriculture the most competitive in the world. We want practitioners to attend, farmers, HR people, people from the corporate and rural service sectors, to get their input into how we as a country can adapt to the changing agribusiness model and achieve the goals we are setting ourselves." Several panel discussions have been programmed into the conference schedule, which runs from the 26th to the 28th of March, at the Christchurch Convention Centre. Other speakers include Generation Y expert, Peter Sheahan, who will share his ideas on recruiting and motivating the 15-28-year-olds entering the workforce now; and leading New Zealand agribusiness managers Mavis Mullins, a director of several agribusinesses, Landcorp's national manager (projects), Graeme Mulligan, and Fonterra director Mark Townshend. "This is an event where we will all be taking away ideas we can put into practice," Mr Bryant said. "It's an opportunity to network with others in the business, to give input and to learn from each other. The consequences will be deep, and far-reaching - and not the least for us, as a training organisation." More information on the conference can be found at www.agricultureito.ac.nz/conference