What we have heard from industry

The maturity of the industry and enterprise often determines the likelihood that kaimahi can receive upskilling opportunities, either on or off the job. When industry is looking to upskill their kaimahi, this is what we’ve heard:

• Training is largely not delivered in proximity to job sites in the horticulture sector. As a result, kaimahi need to travel to other parts of the rohe, reducing their time for personal commitments, as well as temporarily reducing capacity for the employer. This limits the number of kaimahi that can be upskilled at any one time.
• Cadetship programmes are increasing due to the pathways into and within industry they promote.
• Often the bottleneck for training is the number of assessors/instructors. As a result, many employers are opting to develop in-house training in order to maintain flexibility and meet their individual business needs. This model is less achievable for SMEs and therefore kaimahi from those businesses are at times not able to be upskilled.
• The breadth of the kaiāwhina health workforce is vast. Micro-credentials are being demanded so employers and kaimahi can demonstrate skills they have learnt (often on-the-job).
• Partnerships between industry and education providers work well where co-design principles and experience on job sites is a learning requirement.
• There are limited qualifications available for dispatchers in particular, resulting in kaimahi only moving to these roles based on tenure. This makes workforce planning difficult, and limits options for kaimahi within, and wanting to enter into, the freight, logistics and warehousing sector.
• Many employers are appreciative of the provision of private training establishments due to their agility and ability to operate in more isolated districts.

The needs of industry are diverse and complex due to the geographic sparsity of the rohe and the changing nature of work. A one-size fits all approach to training our future workforce does not provide sufficient opportunity for employers to meet skill needs.

To accommodate the various needs of industry and kaimahi, a call for more flexibility and diversity in training opportunities remains a priority of the RSLG. Partnerships between education providers, Workforce Development Councils and industry has been a key theme throughout the rohe, particularly for smaller employers.  

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