Joanne Wells, 2013 Poultry Trainee of the Year, receives her award from PIANZ Chairman, Adrian Revell.
Turks Ltd employee Joanne Wells is delighted after picking up the 2013 Poultry Trainee of the Year Award after only two and a half years working in the industry. The prestigious award is given annually by the poultry industry to recognise its top-performing Primary ITO trainee.
“This award demonstrates our support for a highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce, which is vital for the growth and profitability of the industry,” says Egg Producers Federation Executive Director, Michael Brooks.
Joanne made the move into the poultry industry from a career as a swimming instructor and lifeguard, and after a shift back home to Foxton from Wellington where the opportunity fell into her lap.
“The job was advertised in the local paper and caught my attention,” she says. It was obviously meant to be as she couldn’t be happier working in the industry.
“The job is always full of new challenges and new things to learn, and someone is always willing to go out of their way to help. I also really enjoy working at Turks because they are very family-oriented. That suits me perfectly as I have four children under the age of 14.”
Joanne says she decided to enrol in the National Certificate in Poultry Production through Primary ITO as she had so many questions she needed to know the answers to.
“The poultry industry was all new to me so I wanted to find out as much as I could about the birds, the business and the people.”
“The course was great. I learnt all about bird management including lighting systems, temperature systems and feed systems. I also learnt a bit about staff management which helped me with the ten staff I was supervising.”
Since completing the qualification, Joanne has been promoted and is continuing to broaden her understanding of the industry with an IT-oriented role in production analysis.
“Jo came on board and took the bull by the horns. She showed great enthusiasm and was always eager to learn more about the business,” says Peter Hughes, Turks Operations Manager.
“We are always keen to encourage further education and the qualifications gained through Primary ITO are great as they are specific to our industry. We now have quite a few people in the growing division who have obtained Primary ITO Poultry qualifications,” says Peter.
As part of the award, Joanne was flown to Auckland for a presentation ceremony and lunch in her honour.
If you are interested in undertaking a Poultry qualification through Primary ITO or any of Primary ITO’s wide range of qualifications, contact your local Primary ITO training adviser on 0800 20 80 20 or visit www.primaryito.ac.nz for more information.
About Primary ITO
On the 1st of October 2012, the Agriculture and Horticulture ITOs were merged to form the Primary Industry Training Organisation. Primary ITO is also responsible for Water Industry Training, Equine Industry Training and NZ Sports Turf training, making it one of the largest ITOs in New Zealand.
Primary ITO provides leadership in education and training, develops national qualifications, maintains national standards and provides ongoing support for their trainees and employers. Primary ITO training is subsidised by industry and Government.
For more information about Primary ITO please go to www.primaryito.ac.nz or call 0800 20 80 20.
