Demand and Supply of Accountants

Question: Analyse the external Labour Market, Economic, Social and Public Policy Factors that are likely to have an Impact on the Demand for and Supply of labour for Organisations. Answer: Introduction Agriculture forms an essential part of the Australian economy. The agricultural sector contributes 2.3% of the Gross Domestic Product of the country. The countrys agricultural sector is engaged in supplying about 93 percent of the domestic food and supports an export market worth more than A$41 billion per annum that amounts to over 13 percent of the export revenue, as reported by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). The increase in the productivity in the agricultural sectors is due to a combination of multiple factors like the adoption of innovative farming techniques, better management of livestock, land, crops, pests and water (Australia 2014). These innovations are successfully implemented by the farmers as a result of use and availability of advanced machinery and adequate knowledge of technology that is imparted to the farmers. However, the agricultural sector has been facing a downfall from 28 percent to 13 percent owing to a sho rtage in the supply of the workforce in the sector. Various factors influences the employment in the forestry, agricultural and fishing industries such as abrupt weather conditions, drought, natural calamities, age, work-hours, pay-scale, etc. Economic and social factors also play an important role in influencing employment in the agricultural, forestry and fishing sectors. The characteristics of the farmers and the farm owners are important determinants of productivity of the agriculture subject to the condition that the farmers are able to make innovations in the sector (Hajkowicz 2016). These include distinctiveness associated with their capability to innovate, such as training, experience, education, financial position and approach towards risk. The relative significance of profitable and non-profitable objectives may also play a vital role in the agricultural sector. An Overview of the Agriculture Industry The agricultural industry in Australia is engaged in about 135000 farms or related business activities varying from small-owned enterprises to big multinational companies. The workforce engaged in the industry comprises more than 319,000 people out of which about 57 percent of the workforces are Australian based people. The industry aims at accelerating the participation of the workforce by adopting succession strategies and and strategies that would increase the productivity of the sector. Employment structure of the industry is influenced by various factors, particularly, the climate conditions, natural calamities, flood, drought, economic and social factors tend to have either a positive or an adverse impact on the agriculture industry of the nation. Farming occupies a vital position in the nations development. It feeds the emerging population and has a major contribution in the countrys economy. Australias agriculture industry adds to the gross domestic value and is considered as an important contributor to the nations economy. The industry, besides, feeding its growing population, is also regarded as a major exporter of food and raw materials to Asian countries. Despite various changes in the farming techniques, Australian Farm persists to be a recognizable icon of the Australian way of farming. Demand for Skilled Labors The demand for the skilled labors in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industry has declined steeply in recent years (Sloane 2014). Over the past few years, not only employment in high skill occupations has witnessed a significant fall but employment in the low skill also has experienced a downfall. The types of employment required in the agricultural industry comprise the following: Professionals Managers Technicians Laborers The occupational categories that require largest employment comprise the followings: Crop farmers Livestock farmers Agricultural and Forestry scientists Agricultural technicians Mixed crop Shearers In these occupational categories, majority of the workforce do not possess any post school qualifications. The Department of Employment conducted a research on skill shortage, which denotes that a low graduation rate in the recent years is limiting the number of applicants to the profession. As per the survey report, about 45% of the workforce does not possess any skill training or training on personnel development (Durand 2015). Factors affecting the Workforce Employment Employment in the agriculture industry has been witnessing an overall decline in the past decades, which has been recorded to be the largest downfall of any industry in Australia, till date (Billett 2015). The largest employment contributors in the industry are the beef cattle, grain farming sectors, nut and fruit growing sectors, dairy cattle farming, sheep cattle etc. The nut and fruit growing sectors have undergone a steep downfall, which was followed by a decline in the beef cattle, grain farming and sheep cattle sectors. However, other sectors like the dairy farming sector and the poultry farming sectors have been recorded to have earned profits. The average annual growth in employment from the year 2011 to 2025 can be understood from the table below: Average Annual growth in employment 2011-2025 Long Boom Smart Recovery Terms of trade shock Ring of Fire Agriculture 0.9% -0.2% -0.3% -1.0% Livestock Farmers 2.7% 1.7% 1.6% 0.9% Crop Farmers 0.6% -0.3% -0.4% -1.0% Mixed Crop and Livestock Farm Workers -1.1% -2.0% -2.1% -2.7% Crop Farm Workers -2.7% -3.6% -3.7% -4.2% All Industry Average 2.0% 1.5% 1.6% 0.7% (Source: National Farmer's Federation 2017) The factors that lead to shortage in the demand of the workforce are: Lack of skills to manage risks- as the farming techniques and systems are becoming more complex, the farmers must possess sufficient skills to control potential risks related to the farming system. High labor costs- the labor inputs in Australian farms have become more costly than the key competitors have, which in turn, affects the competitiveness of the nation. Lack of education- most of the farmers engaged in the farming occupation do not have any post compulsory school qualifications which amounts to skill shortages. Unable to access labors through initiatives- farmers have access to permanent and temporary overseas labour and participate in various programs including seasonal worker programs. They are facilitated with visa arrangements including temporary business visa schemes. Despite taking these initiatives, employers continue to face problems in order to access workers (Buchanan, Finegold and Warhurst 2017). Non-participation in vocational education training- the stakeholders are of the industry has opined that the participation level of the industry in vocational training and education program is considerably low. Lack of time to impart training- the farm owners do not give sufficient time to train the farmers on the use of the advanced machineries and the communication technology. Long distances- the training centre is located at distant places that causes inconvenience to the farmers as they have to travel significantly long distances to and from the learning centre. Climate change- weather condition is yet another major factor affecting the the employment in the agriculture industry. Excess of rainfall often redefines the suitability of the farming areas. Australias climate is the most variable climate in the world as a result of which farming becomes subject to frequent fluctuations. During droughts, agricultural productivity falls steeply (Wright, Clibborn and Piper 2016). Age- few young people tend to take over their family farms as a result of which major part of the workforce comprise high median age. The existing farmers move into the old age groups and the young people are hardly interested in replacing them, instead, they prefer to move to metropolitan areas to pursue higher studies or to seek better and wider employment opportunities (Warhurst et al. 2017). Attraction and retention- the poor conception of agriculture as a career option act as a barrier to attract and retain skilled workers. Restricted access to advanced information technology, inadequate training, poor transport facilities are some factors that results in the relocation of the young skilled workforce from the rural regions (Argent and Tonts 2015). Women participation- the women have been a part and contributing half of the real farm income to the agricultural sector. The participation of women in the agriculture sector has remained to be steady. However, it is often found that women, in particular, regional and rural Australia become significantly subject to discrimination in the management and decision-making roles (Beddie et al. 2014). Other important factors that act as a hindrance to employment include limited availability of health and education facilities, low wage rate etc. Shortage of skilled labors limits the productivity in the agricultural sectors thus, affecting the economy of the nation. Policy Reforms The social and economic policies following which, the farms have been operating over the past few years have undergone considerable change (Kotey and Sorensen 2014). The Australian industries have been exposed to greater domestic and international competition; the purport of the reforms is to enhance the standard of living by increasing productivity, developing the competitiveness of the industries. The Australian agricultural sector policies focused on making the decision-making process more receptive to the market forces. The major concern of the agriculture sector is shortage of skilled workforce and the problem is only increasing. The reformed policies aim at: Ensuring welfare strategies and sound health of the livestock Outline the contribution of the advanced technology in improved productivity The policies aim at promoting a skilled Australian workforce in the following ways: By adopting appropriate funding models that are consistent and sufficient for providing training to the farmers (Storey 2016). By hiring trainers from reputed companies involved in agri-business to provide the farmers courses so as to make them eligible for the Diploma and Certificate IV levels; By facilitating easy access to relevant information that is cost effective and is of high quality; By providing initiatives in order to increase participation of the rural areas and promote adequate training to the workplace in the remote regions; The reformed policies also promote supply of labor in order to reduce the shortage in the labor force in the agriculture industry in the following way: By importing skilled and semi-skilled labors from overseas through the visa program schemes (Zimmermann 2013). By introducing Up-Skilling Programs in order to ensure that, the new applicants to the agriculture workforce satisfy the requirements of the employers (Griffith et al. 2014). As far as educating the workforce in the agricultural sector is concerned, the policies aim at: Introducing a more balanced and advanced agriculture-based education program in schools and college; Providing adequate advice to the government regarding incorporating changes related to education programs and policies. It would facilitate increased participation of the student and rural industry (McCombie and Thirlwall 2016). It would take a considerable period of time to implement the plans and policies. However, it is pertinent that immediate priority is given to the expansion of the Seasonal Worker Program and refurbishment of the ANZSCO system to impart industrial skills and educations to the young farmers for better productivity of the agricultural sector. Conclusion: The Australian agriculture holds a prospective future. There is an ever-growing demand for commodities like Fibre and food. The amalgamation of the industries, educational institutional and the governments is pertinent to impart adequate education and training in order to meet the requirement of the industries (Wheelahan 2015). The productivity of the industry may increase if the government ensures that the policies are adequately implemented. The government must concentrate on implementing assistance programs during droughts, to prevent distortion of the financial incentives. The National Agribusiness Education, Skill and Labour Taskforce (NEST) has been established in order to develop a strategy for facilitating participation in all aspects of the agriculture industry. it aimed to improve communication between the government, educational institutions and industry; to enhance workforce participation in the agricultural sector; to increase the supply and demand of skilled labors in the agricultural sector in the future. The primary objective of the public policies is to build up a sustainable and effective workforce programs for the future agricultural industry. The policies must emphasize on the growing needs of the agricultural labor market and ensure the availability of a workforce that meets the require ment of such agricultural labor market. The policies would utilize the skills of the workers that are already working and impart the knowledge to the younger people. In order to enhance the availability of the workforce in the agricultural industry, it must be taken into consideration that opting agriculture, as a career is permanent and not provisional. References: Argent, N. and Tonts, M., 2015. A multicultural and multifunctional countryside? International labour migration and Australia's productivist heartlands.Population, Space and Place,21(2), pp.140-156. Australia, D., 2014. Australian Dairy Industry.Dairy Australia. 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