Kiwis Flock to Work at Talley’s

By Karen Phelps for Business South magazine, December 2020

With no transient workers entering the country work opportunities abound at Talley’s and Kiwis are increasingly flocking to take up the roles, says general manager wet fish at Talley’s, Leon Moore.
“We are seeing lots of Kiwis coming in. There is plenty of work and we are always looking for good people,” he says.

But it’s not just the fact that people enjoy the work that is attracting them to Talley’s. Leon says it is also because the company supports their training and because of the family culture that Talley’s has developed.

“We provide our people with training and job opportunities, but they are also part of a family. Our people have each other’s backs. It is a great culture – at all our factories. That is why we have so many long serving staff. A large number have been with us for more than 25 years. Some are in the same sort of roles as when they started, others have moved around through the divisions, which they can because we have so many different job roles. For example, both my children work for Talley’s. This is really a credit to the Talley’s family – it is all about our people,” says Leon.

Talley’s provides free training for New Zealand residents, such as a national certificate in Seafood Processing (Level 3) where people learn about handling fish, storing fish, cleaning up, operating machinery safety and logistics. The training is part of the ITOs with various training providers working with Talley’s.
“It means we can help people get their tertiary education if they want it, even if they don’t yet have NCEA. From there, there are opportunities to get cadetships with the company, to gather more skills and try different roles.”

Leon says there are currently roles to be filled in the factories available across most areas for example packing, filleting, logistics, coolstore, supervisory, engineering and clerical.

Proudly Local

As a family company Talley’s understands what it means to support local, says general manager wet fish at Talley’s Leon Moore. And this extends above and beyond just providing jobs directly to locals, which in itself has many spin-off effects for the local economy.
“There are high quality skills in the regional towns where we are based, so we work with the local service companies as much as we can, supporting their businesses, as they support ours.”

Talley’s is also a keen contributor to the communities in terms of offering support to local schools, sports clubs and hospitals.
“We simply love the people who work for us, and their families, neighbours and friends and will do what we can to help them when they need it,” says Leon. “Each of the provincial towns where we are based are fantastic places to live. We love being in the regions because it means our staff can have a great job and also enjoy the best life of New Zealand’s lifestyle.”

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