Details of Seasonal Packhouse Positions
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Our Quality Controllers start working in mid-November to enable them to undertake the necessary training before the packing season starts. They also assist with the preparation of the packhouse for the export packing season. The positions go through until the completion of the cherry export packing season in late January / early February.
The Role:
Once export cherry packing begins, the position involves sampling and monitoring the packed cherries to ensure compliance to the required standards, communicating the sample results to the relevant staff members, ensuring all documentation is completed and accurate, staff training, inductions and supervision.
Payment & Hours:
Payment is by hourly rate and employees who work until the end of the cherry export season are paid an End of Season Bonus.
We guarantee a minimum of 32 hours work per week.
Key Requirements:
You need to be self-motivated and have a positive attitude, great attention to detail, great communication skills and be capable of working long hours. You must be able to work for the entire cherry season.
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We employ a team of three forklift drivers during the cherry export packing season. The positions start between late November and mid-December. Work goes through until the completion of the cherry export season which is generally late January / early February.
The Role:
Duties include unloading and loading fruit trailers, pre-cooling fruit, completing bin cards correctly, ensuring bins are correctly placed in the cool stores, ensuring product security is not compromised as per security procedures, unloading delivery trucks and loading dispatch trucks and other general packhouse duties when not operating a forklift.
Payment & Hours
Payment is by hourly rate and if you work until the end of the cherry packing season, you will be paid an End of Season Bonus.
We guarantee a minimum of 32 hours work per week.
Key Requirements:
You must hold a current OSH-certified forklift licence, be capable of working long hours, be self-motivated and have a positive attitude.
Workplace experience operating a fork-lift is preferable.
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The cherry packing season starts in early December and work goes through until late January / early February. Whilst many of the positions will start at the start of the season, there are options to start working between mid-December until early January. We will have some in the packhouse from early November when we start preparing for the season.
The Role:
The work involves sorting fruit into different grade standards for export and local markets, loading the grader, making boxes, washing buckets, stacking pallets and packing other summer fruit. Generally, you will change stations during the day to provide some variety.
Payment & Hours:
Payment is by hourly rate and if you work until the end of the cherry export packing season, you are eligible for an End of Season Bonus.
We guarantee a minimum of 32 hours work per week.
Key Requirements:
No experience is necessary as full training is provided.
You do need a good concentration span, the ability to work on your feet all day and the ability to undertake repetitive factory work at pace.
The fruit moves around the packhouse on conveyor belts and this can induce motion sickness in those prone to it.
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Packhouse work is great for those that prefer to work indoors or who are not confident that they are well-suited for working in the orchard.
The Suncrest Orchard packhouse operates from early December until early / mid-February. From mid-February until late April our packhouse only operates intermittently and it is closed from late April until early-November when preparation for the cherry season begins.
When in operation, our packhouse only operates a day shift.
Daily hours vary as we generally aim to pack all the cherries picked that day but typically work is up to 10 hours per day. (Additional hours available for those on the cleaning crews).
Work is determined by the weather and other factors:
If it is raining, fruit cannot be harvested.
If it rains for a couple of days in a row during the cherry harvest, then the fruit may split and become unviable for harvesting. This doesn't happen often, but it can occur.
Work can also be interrupted by decreased demand for the orchard's produce, condition or maturity of the fruit, availability of packhouse space, mechanical breakdown, and availability of transport.