Support the Establishment of Workforce Development Councils, Expressions of Interest Now Sought

Message from our CEO

It was pleasing to see the jobs focus within the Government’s Budget announcement, including a specific focus on vocational training, and an acknowledgement of the important role it will play in our nation’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

This announcement also provides a timely opportunity to provide a general update around the Reforms of Vocational Education (RoVE), and an encouragement for you to consider an involvement in the interim Establishment Board (iEB) for the Health, Community and Social Services Workforce Development Council (or the Services WDC for our cleaning employers). It is critical that this new entity is industry led.

Finally, I would like to extend my personal thanks and appreciation for the absolutely critical role that your organisations and people have played, and will continue to play, through COVID-19. It has been particularly pleasing to see your essential role acknowledged by all New Zealanders. Thank you.

Ngā mihi

Jane Wenman
Chief Executive, Careerforce

Fast-tracked Establishment of Workforce Development Councils

The establishment of six workforce development councils is a key element of the Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE). For the sectors that we currently represent, this includes one for Health, Community and Social Services, while the cleaning sector will fall within the new Services WDC.

In last week’s Government Budget announcement, $230m was set aside to support and fast-track their establishment, by a target date of October 2020, ahead of the original target of mid-2021.

Six skills-based WDC interim Establishment Boards (iEB’s), made up of industry members, will be appointed in June 2020 to help stand up the WDCs. iEB members will be appointed by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) through an Expression of Interest (EoI) process, running 18 May – 2 June.

The TEC are particularly looking for experienced individuals from industry who have the following skills:

Strong connections to industry - people whose application is supported by their industry association, membership body, advisory group, employer collective, Māori employer and industry groups, transitional Industry Training Organisation or other wider stakeholder groups.
Governance experience - industry leaders who have experience, and are comfortable in being part of a ‘working board’ and have a working knowledge of governance structures and arrangements.
Good communication and collaboration skills.
Knowledge of skills development and vocational education.

We strongly encourage you to consider how you could contribute to the establishment of either the Health, Community, and Social Services WDC, or the Services WDC. To review the criteria, better understand what would be involved, and to apply via the EoI form, go to the TEC website.

To find out more about WDCs, check out this TEC video.

2020 Government Budget

There is no doubt that vocational training was a big winner in the Budget announcement, and a recognition from the Government of the critical role that vocational training will play in our recovery from COVID-19.

The $230m funding for the establishment of the WDCs was part of a $1.6b support package for trades and apprenticeships training, which also included funding for:

$334m funding for additional tertiary education enrolments
$320m targeted investment support for free trades training in critical industries
Up to $412m support for employers to retain and keep training their apprentices
$19m for group training schemes to support apprentices
$46m for Regional Skills Leadership groups
$141m to increase tertiary education tuition and training subsidies by 1.6%
$32m for increased funding to meet demand in Trades Academies and specialist support for schools and tertiary education organisations
$16 million boost to Adult and Community Education
$50 million to support Māori trades training
$11 million, plus $15 million of capital investment, for Tiro Whetū, a new online careers
$6.1 million to administer a code of pastoral care for domestic tertiary students.

We are still considering the implications of the Budget announcements, and what it means for our sectors, and will communicate further as it becomes clearer.

From a wider health and wellbeing perspective, also pleasing was the significant allocation of funding for the wellbeing sector, including an additional $3.9b for DHBs. $1.6b, is being invested in government and non-government social services with money allocated for jobs, training and apprenticeship, public and transitional housing, specialist family violence services, child wellbeing, Whanau Ora and Maori communities, rural and provincial social services, financial capability and community law centres. An additional $832m has also been allocated over five years to Disability Support Services to meet increasing numbers of people accessing services.

Transitional Industry Training Organisations (TITO’s)

Effective 1 April 2020, all ITOs, including Careerforce, became TITOs, or Transitional Industry Training Organisations. This change simply allows for the necessary transitions to take place, and has no other impact on our organisation or operations.

While the Budget announcement will see transition timeframes escalated for the skills leadership and standard setting functions within Careerforce (to a WDC), the transition timeframe for our arranging training function remains the same, and not expected to be completed until December 2022.

Our focus remains very much on supporting the immediate workforce development needs of our employers, and supporting our trainees and apprentices on their training journeys with us.

If you have any questions relating to any of these updates, we encourage you to touch base with your regular Careerforce contact.

Ngā mihi maioha

The Careerforce Team