THE labour shortage in regional Australia could be taken off the critical list.
That’s the opinion of RedMac dealer principal Brett Young, Three Springs.
“More focus should be placed on bringing in people with their families who want to work and contribute to communities,” Mr Young said.
“I hate to say it, but we find it very difficult to get Australians who want to work here and that’s a pretty general picture throughout the ag industry.
“Since the last census, the population of Three Springs has fallen from 800 to 580 and we’re not the only town with a falling population problem.
“Bringing in people with a strong desire to work here has multiple benefits for employers and the general community.”
Mr Young cited two examples within his own dealership.
Brian Albinda is a heavy duty mechanic from the Philippines.
He worked for a building supplies company in Saudi Arabia as part of a service team overseeing 1000 vehicles, 700 of which operated with Iveco engines.
Mr Albinda became a specialist in engine and transmission overhauls but eventually started looking for work opportunities in another country because of the working conditions.
“You would start at six or seven o’clock in the morning and the temperature already would be around 42 degrees Celsius and it just got hotter through the day,” Mr Albinda said.
“I applied for a job at RedMac’s Moora branch through an employment agency in the Philippines and my work with Iveco engines was a big bonus for me because Case IH tractors and headers had Iveco engines.
“I come from a rice farm in the Philippines and we have threshers and tractors but nothing the size of what I service here.”
Now in his sixth year at RedMac, Mr Albinda has a partner – Dixe Rose Ong, a Filipino who gained Australian citizenship.
The couple have three school-age children and feel a strong part of the Moora community.
He is waiting on documents that will confirm his Australian citizenship, hopefully within the next four months.
A fellow countryman, Edel Entera, is a heavy duty mechanic at RedMac’s Three Springs branch.
He will celebrate his seventh year in Australia in July, but to customers and the Three Springs community he already is accepted as a valuable community member.
Mr Entera is a member of the local bushfire brigade and an enthusiastic ‘vollie’ at home football games with duties in the canteen.
He also is a passionate West Coast Eagles fan.
After a six-year career in the Philippines working for a construction company, Mr Entera also worked in Saudi Arabia and was a service team leader overseeing 500 vehicles for another construction company.
But he quickly found a new passion working at RedMac.
“I love servicing the big gear, it doesn’t matter if it’s a header, a sprayer or a tractor,’’ Mr Entera said.
“On the rice farms in the Philippines the tractors are powered by three cylinder engines, spraying is done with a hand-held pump and we seed and harvest by hand.
“I’ve attended the Case IH training schools, learning all about the headers in Sydney and the engines, electrics and hydraulics in Perth.
“You always need to keep learning because technology is changing all the time, especially with computers.
“But the limitation with computers is they only identify problems.
“It takes a human being to find out why there is a problem.”
Mr Entera met his wife Ginabeth in Australia and the couple have a 17-month-old daughter named Candice.
“We are very happy to be part of the Three Springs community and I am very happy to have such a great job,” he said.
