Focus
Competenz Board Chairman Mike Simm (centre) in a RoVE workshop with industry leaders.
The Competenz Board, Senior Leadership Team and Sector Engagement Team worked with key industry representatives and government officials to understand the impact of the reform on our business as well as our stakeholders, including learners and employers.
Our Sector Engagement Team also continued to consult with industry associations and key influencers to gain industry insights as part of their everyday roles.
RoVE proposal consultation
On 13 February 2019, the Government proposed major changes to New Zealand’s Vocational Education system and gave the industry seven weeks to respond. Competenz began extensive consultation to coordinate feedback from more than 1000 employers and industry leaders into a comprehensive submission that reflected our collective voices. During this process Competenz:
Ongoing RoVE engagement
On 01 August 2019, the Government announced its proposed changes would be going ahead, largely unchanged. Competenz, its employers and industry leaders were disappointed that the ITO sector would be disestablished with its functions replaced by new organisations: Workforce Development Councils to set the skills standards and a new Institute of Skills and Technology to arrange and support workplace training.
However, consultation continued to ensure the formation and governance of the new system was truly industry led.
Initial consultation focussed on the sector groupings, formation and governance of the new Workforce Development Councils (WDCs). This informed another Competenz submission to the Government at the end of October. In order to do this Competenz:
Working groups and reference group
Two of our Senior Leadership Team were selected by the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (NZIST) Establishment Board to contribute their expertise to co-design working groups advising the formation of the new governing body for the 16 Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics.
Sean Kirk, Competenz CFO was also appointed to the Funding Reference Group to work on the Unified Funding System Project for RoVE, reporting to the Ministry of Education and the Tertiary Education Commission.
Manufacturing, Engineering, Logistics and Technology WDC consultation
With the Government’s announcement of six WDC groupings on 17 December, ongoing engagement on formation and design became more targeted to facilitating discussions between the industry groupings in the newly confirmed Manufacturing, Engineering, Logistics and Technology (MELT) WDC and TEC.
Transition planning
During 2019 Competenz has carried out broad work with internal teams, industry representatives and government officials on how the overall transition to the new system – due to be completed by December 2022 – will go ahead. Planning and consultation will continue, with final transition plans to be completed by the end of 2020.