Business skills development for the nursery industry (NY07017)

This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.

What was it all about?

The aim of this project was to develop industry skills in the areas of business management, HR management, marketing and retailing skills.

The project provided funding to each NGI State Association for use for specific activities related to achieving business skills improvement.

This project was an integral part of:

• NY07009 – Management & Administration of Awards and Accreditation which aimed to make the journey to accreditation an attainable pathway of business improvement.
• NY07501 - Industry & Stakeholder Marketing which aimed to increase levels of industry participation through increased awareness, interaction and participation in national industry projects and activities.

The funding supported by this project was seen as essential to the communication of many national initiatives and without localised extension through each State such initiatives would not be successful.

In most cases each State NGI Association had a dedicated Business Development Officer (BDO) whose role included the communication of the national business improvement initiatives to the industry and particularly retail. The BDO undertakes a number of activities including one on one engagement, workshop facilitation, marketing and more to deliver the national business improvement tools developed under NY07009 and NY07501.

The project had faced a number of challenges to meeting targets including strategic decisions made on timing such as the best time to relaunch AGCAS however overall, activities were successful in achieving the desired outcomes.

A further challenge faced by this project which had had a flow on effect to NY07009 and NY07501 had been the allocation and reporting requirements of the State NGI Associations on receipt of the funds and delivery of the requirements. While the State NGI Associations were fully aware of the deliverables required for the funding, the administrative protocol in relation to accountability had been lacking at all levels. NGIA took steps to rectify the issue by arranging for contacts containing measurable and reportable requirements that, for the most part, mirror the requirements of Hort innovation (then Horticulture Australia Ltd).

NGIA intended to implement these contracts individually with each State NGI Association together with a range of support reporting templates to help streamline the reporting structure. This process ensured that accurate figures were recorded regularly and that figures were supported by evidentiary material.