The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Salvation Army finds harvesting jobs for people on probation

Northern Advocate
25 Jul, 2018 06:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Salvation Army staff Sandy Howes (left) and Michelle Thompson are loading up another van with probation workers for the Northland horticultural industry. Photo / John Stone

Salvation Army staff Sandy Howes (left) and Michelle Thompson are loading up another van with probation workers for the Northland horticultural industry. Photo / John Stone

Michelle Thompson spent about 20 years working for banks before becoming an employment navigator for The Salvation Army two years ago.

The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation. It has fought poverty and social and spiritual distress in New Zealand since 1883, and Thompson is now in the front line of its education and employment division's battle to find work for Northland people placed on probation by the courts.

When she joined up in 2016 Thompson and another employment navigator, Sandy Howes, were at the helm when the Sallies started sending a van containing 10 probation workers from Whangarei to Dargaville for daily work harvesting kumara.

You can see the pride when they get paid. You see it in the way they walk.

Harvest work generally winds up after two or three months, but the pilot project expanded to cover kumara planting, sorting and weeding and there are now usually two vans carrying 20 probation workers from the city to the Kaipara kumara fields daily.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And the shuttle service has branched out, with three further vans now collecting probation workers from three pick-up points in Whangarei and another at Kaikohe to provide staff for Kerikeri orchards.

Thompson said the Bay of Islands work started with Orangewood Fruitgrowers recruiting a team of eight men and two women who worked a 6pm-4am night shift in a Kerikeri packhouse.

The shift work was successful and the education and employment division was invited to supply staff for winter and summer kiwifruit pruning and harvesting.

The Sallies' reliable service gained traction because the packhouse operators could promise orchardists 10 staff would arrive daily to carry out designated tasks on time, Michelle said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Orangewood HR assistant Michelle Mora confirmed the company was happy with the probation workers and aimed to continue to hire them.

PATHWAY TO WORK

Along with kumara crops at Dargaville and kiwifruit at Kerikeri, staff were being provided for a raspberry grower at Maungatapere.

The Salvation Army also runs a driving school so people on probation can be trained to drive vehicles like forklifts or tractors which could make them more employable.

Thompson said her work involved the Probation Service and Corrections. It was a pathway to long-term employment and did not include any church messages.

Most of the probation workers were men aged 20-60 on probation for offences ranging from breaches of driving regulations to serious charges.

Thompson said The Salvation Army team had a lot of humour.

She and Sandy Howes fuss around the "boys" like mothers, supporting them.

"We put these boys first. We care for all of them — hand on heart. You have got to have that trust."

The two employment navigators go to court to support their workers, telling judges their "boys" and "girls" are good workers and merit the courts' support.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And the reward for the two women comes on occasions like last Christmas when the "boys" can afford to buy presents for their families.

"You can see the pride when they get paid. You see it in the way they walk," Michelle said.

Employers wanting to support the scheme may contact Michelle Thompson on 09 438 4470

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim

The Country

City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land

The Country

The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim
The Country

'We love you Jocko': Hundreds pay tribute to Stewart Island hunting accident victim

Jock Davies was remembered for his infectious humour, caring nature and great strength.

14 Jul 04:21 AM
City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land
The Country

City to Farm - how leftovers are giving back to the land

14 Jul 03:16 AM
The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath
The Country

The Country: Tasman farmer on flooding aftermath

14 Jul 02:16 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP