1. Under the aegis of the Ministry of Education & Human Resources
PRESS RELEASE
03 October 2012
HRDC studies opportunities and challenges of
human resource development in Agricultural sector
The Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) will organise a validation workshop for the
Agricultural sector at 09 30 hrs at HRDC Lecture Theatre, 4th Floor, NG Tower, Ebène on Thursday 11
October 2012. The objective is to meet industry operators, HR and training managers and other key
stakeholders from the public and private sectors to discuss the findings of a survey conducted by the
HRDC. This would help better understand employers' skill needs, gauge training requirements of the
workforce and anticipate employment trends for the sector. The goal is to come up with a national
training plan to address the problem of skill mismatch in the Agricultural sector.
Dr the Honourable Vasant K. Bunwaree, Minister of Education and Human Resources, will be the
Chief Guest at the workshop.
“The challenge today is to find ways to feed the growing number of people in the light of a dwindling
workforce in the agricultural sector,” explained Mr Raj Auckloo, Director of HRDC. “The assessment of
the labour market is therefore fundamental to avoid mismatch between labour demand and supply.
Moreover, human resource development strategies must be constantly fine-tuned and adaptable to
respond quickly to the changing skill needs created by new challenges,” Mr Auckloo added.
According to HRDC forecast, employment is expected to drop by around 4.4% to 8.1% by 2015. The
HRDC survey shows that 59% of employers from the primary level of production feel that Mauritius is
experiencing labour shortage at national level. While 35% indicated a shortage at sector level, only
17% said their own organisation was facing a labour shortage. The survey also reveals that only a few
employers are able to project labour requirement for their organisation, and that too until 2013 only.
This observation hints at the short-sightedness of employers in terms of manpower planning for the
sector.
Human Resource Development Council
4th Floor, NG Tower, Cybercity, Ebène. Republic of Mauritius.
• Tel: (230) 454 4009 • Fax: (230) 454 6220 • URL: www.hrdc.mu Page 1 of 2

2. Under the aegis of the Ministry of Education & Human Resources
The survey further shows that many young people are not interested to join the sector as they
believe there are limited career paths or they have not been properly guided while choosing a field of
study. Others are reluctant to join agro-processing industries because of the physical nature of the
jobs. Among other reasons stated by Employers as to why it is difficult to recruit skilled labour include
high salary expectations; lack of experience or appropriate training courses; people do not want to
work long hours; young generation prefer office work; and it is difficult to attract people towards
manual work in the textile and agricultural sectors.
The top five jobs in demand in the Agricultural sector are namely: (1) Labourer; (2) Farm worker; (3)
Nursery gardener; (4) Mechanical operator; and (5) Agronomist.
The Labour Shortage Survey was based on data collected from 100 companies from the primary level
of production (i.e. foodcrop, fruit, flower, tea, sugarcane and animal farming) and 46 companies from
agro processing (i.e. post-harvest, processing). A breakdown of employees by category revealed that
Workers (e.g. labourers and farmers) comprised the major part of the workforce, representing 90%.
Professional staff (e.g. farm manager and veterinarian) represented only 7% while Specialised
workers (e.g. mechanical operator) merely 3% of the total workforce. This shows that the Mauritian
agricultural sector is still very traditional.
The forthcoming meeting with industry operators is a vital step to help support timely, effective and
evidence-based training and skills-match policies.
Event Details
The Validation Workshop for the Agricultural sector will be held at:
Venue HRDC Lecture Theatre, 4th Floor, NG Tower, Ebène
Date: Thursday, 11 October 2012
Time: 09 30 hrs
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Contact
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Raj Auckloo or Ms Preetisha Gungah
Director Public Relations & Communication Officer
Tel: 464 4351 Tel: 464 8503 or 2528614
Email: rauckloo@hrdc.intnet.mu Email: pgungah@hrdc.intnet.mu
Human Resource Development Council
4th Floor, NG Tower, Cybercity, Ebène. Republic of Mauritius. Page 2 of 2
• Tel: (230) 454 4009 • Fax: (230) 454 6220 • URL: www.hrdc.mu