A leadership skill gap within aquacultural sectors has been identified at the middle-management and supervisory staff level, specifically regarding the ability to effectively manage a team, build successful workplace culture and work effectively with generational differences. Attaining and retaining staff is a challenge for industry and this challenge is expected to become greater as the industry grows. The development of a positive workplace culture to improve job satisfaction will be important to attract and retain staff into the future. Another issue that industry faces as it grows is the progression of younger generations into leadership roles that require the supervision of older employees and visa versa where older generations are working longer. This brings a need for supervisory and middle management staff to understand how to work effectively with different generations in the workforce. In response to these industry needs, the APFA has engaged Affectus, a company who focuses on delivering leadership development programs and workshops.

Affectus proposes to manage and facilitate a training program to address the earlier described leadership skill gaps. This program will host a maximum of 20 people and will include a 2-day training workshop,2-day industry conference, industry networking dinner, online coaching session and a half day online follow-up workshop. The program aims to prepare participants to have a positive impact on the workplace through increased understanding of self, workplace culture, generational differences, communication and conflict resolution. This project addresses a key R&D priority of the FRDC and APFA 2020-2025 Strategic Plans, namely ‘Capability and Capacity’ and ‘Human Capital and Emerging Technologies’, respectively.