A SHORTAGE of skilled workers at harvest time is all but guaranteed with the State government confirming it is highly unlikely that staff will be allowed to be flown in from interstate or overseas.
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Concerns are mounting that due to WA's hard border with both the rest of the country and the entire world, there will be a severe lack of experienced staff to drive headers, chaser bins and other machinery come October.
WAFarmers president Rhys Turton said they've recognised WA is going to be hundreds, if not thousands, of workers short for seasonal harvest.
"We're going to be missing people not just from Europe but from New Zealand and interstate," Mr Turton said.
"Based on last week's rain we're now looking at an above average harvest and getting skilled labour to help with that is going to be essential.
"We've always pushed that agriculture is exceptional and essential, that was recognised in the earlier days of COVID-19 and it needs to be re-recognised as we head into harvest."
WA Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan said the grains industry had relied on labour being flown in from overseas for too long which has caused a vulnerability as not enough effort had been spent on training local people.
"Most of the grains industry have just kept hoping that we're going to open up the borders, but that is incredibly unlikely at this stage," Ms MacTiernan said.
"Farmers need to tell us how many people they want, when they want them and outline what the skillsets are, we can then do our best to find people to do that, but they have to accept we won't be bringing in workers from Europe or from Victoria or New South Wales."
2 Workin Oz, an employment agency offering training solutions and recruitment services in farming and agriculture, offers a farm harvest skills and heavy machinery program every year.
In 2019 more than 60 people graduated from the course, only seven of which were Australian, the rest were backpackers.
This year, Careers in Grain is offering 36 scholarships for the course covering 75 per cent of the fee, yet currently only five spaces have been booked.
2 Workin Oz owner Ley Webster said they were struggling to get the people to fill the courses because there was not the numbers coming in that there normally would be.
"We don't have skilled workers and that's what keeps me awake at night, it's a massive safety issue," Ms Webster said.
"You cannot put inexperienced people on a hay baler or a header, firstly it impacts on their productivity and the product they produce, but the safety aspect of operating those machines is too high.
"They can all train, but if someone is running three harvesters, they can't have three inexperienced operators, because the implications and dangers that poses are massive."
Ms MacTiernan said that the State government announced a couple of weeks ago that they would be putting short-term courses in place to help utilise local people for the grain harvest.
"There's no doubt we're going to have some problems, but we'll be going all out during August and September to attract people to those roles," she said.
"We've had people putting their hand up to work in the regions but haven't been able to get anyone from the industry to nominate what it is they require.
"We've got about 3000 backpackers that have contacted the various websites that we've established, but we need the grain industry to be clearly indicating when they want and need people so we can match them up to the jobs."
While short courses and backpackers are useful for some roles, they don't solve the problem of needing people with years of experience to operate heavy machinery.
According to Mr Turton, that issue could be helped by a travel bubble between WA and New Zealand.
"They may still be subject to the 14-day quarantine, but given the state of COVID-19 there, or lack thereof, it would seem a likely and quite feasible option," Mr Turton said.
"All we can do is keep putting pressure on those that make the decisions and keep pointing out how great the need for skilled labour is."
Ms MacTiernan said they're not ruling the option out, but bringing in people from New Zealand is a decision that would have to be made by the Federal government.
"Bringing in workers from the Pacific is a matter which has been discussed with the Federal Agriculture Minister, we've done it with shearers and we understand New Zealand seems to have more or less eradicated the virus," she said.
"In saying that, farmers cannot rely on an external solution and we cannot leave any stone unturned when it comes to a State solution."
