Tahi Ngātahi is a new online learning platform that uses video clips to pass on skills and safety tips to farmers, shearing contractors and their employees so they can run a safe and productive wool harvest.
Tahi Ngātahi is a joint initiative between the NZ Shearing Contractors’ Association (NZSCA), Federated Farmers, Worksafe NZ and ACC.
Tahi Ngātahi is designed to make life better for woolshed workers, farmers and shearing contractors. All parts of our industry have come together, to create something that makes us all safer, our careers longer, and to help us look out for each other in the shed.
It makes health and safety training accessible, part of ‘business as usual’ and a team effort. Over 800 farmers, shearers and wool handlers have signed up since it was launched in 2018.
TAHI NGĀTAHI IS AN ONLINE TRAINING PLATFORM FOR EVERYONE WORKING IN AND AROUND THE WOOLSHED.
NZSCA are responsible for shearing 70% of the nation’s flock, performing 40 million shears every year. They work on over 8,000 sheep farms every year and employ around 3,200 workers. 80% of the workforce are Māori, hence the initiative’s Māori name Tahi Ngātahi, which means ‘one, together’.
Keeping workers injury-free in a physically demanding occupation is a big issue for the industry. The wool producing sector currently has an ACC work account of over $25 million in new claims liability. In 2017, there were 755 work-related injuries in wool harvesting, resulting in 9,300 working days lost to the industry.
TAHI NGĀTAHI AIMS TO:
- reduce common injuries by 30% and prolong careers
- build a stronger, more skilled workforce
- make shearing more attractive to new entrants
- support the wellbeing of rural families and communities
