Future workforce

Digital skills – Boosting the productivity of the region’s youth through digital skills

Action

Timeframe: Short-medium term

The RSLG supports urgent and critical action required to ensure the minimum sustainable workforce pipeline meets regional demand for digital skills and advanced digital roles (including software engineers). 

The RSLG supports connections with industry partners, including Microsoft, Facebook, Meta, Google, Amazon and IBM, along with tertiary education providers, to mitigate equity and access gaps for digital skills. This will ensure access and timing of funds are aligned with industry partners’ investment. 

The RSLG promotes the creation of a space for collaboration with industry. This space will promote digital skills for Māori by Māori and align digital skills training with business needs. 

The RSLG supports the development of career pathways for Māori by Māori through the delivery of micro-credentials in digital skills for Māori students under 30 (a high proportion of the Māori population in Auckland). 

Expected outcomes

  • Grow a sustainable digital skills pipeline from school to tertiary education 
  • Improve imbalances between the skills of workers and the skills needs of the labour market through digital skills and ICT trainings across Auckland’s economy
  • Grow good jobs and ensure labour market equity and access for digital skills and advanced ICT roles for good and productive jobs

Key stakeholders

  • Activate Tāmaki Makaurau programme
  • Clearhead 
  • Ministry of Education 
  • Ministry of Social Development
  • NZ Digital Skills Forum 
  • NZTech  
  • Whāriki Māori Business Network 

Create opportunities for a more resilient and productive workforce, especially women and youth, to prepare Tāmaki Makaurau for foreseeable future shocks

Actions

Timeframe: Short-medium term

The RSLG supports mobilisation for the development of initiatives and or programmes to ensure Auckland is prepared to support its workforce to respond to shocks (economic and others) as below:

  • Develop the future-proofed pivoting, flexibility and adaptability of the region’s workers, especially women and young people, which is essential for productivity both in terms of skills and ways of working.

The RSLG advocates for the mental health and wellbeing of people to support an agile and readily pivoted workforce, including dedicated effort and time to manage mental wellbeing.

  • Recognise that Auckland is the border city to New Zealand and its workforce and businesses are at the forefront of economic shocks and workforce disruption.

The RSLG encourages SME activation mentoring and support for rangatahi to ensure resilience.

  • Recognise the critical function of the region’s social services organisations and volunteers in supporting the region’s resilience, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The RSLG endorses programmes that support workers with opportunities to upskill through job displacement, including support to just transitions and potential job losses in the future in those sectors impacted by economic and technology changes.

First Steps(external link)

Expected outcomes

  • Support a more resilient workforce in times of economic disruption ​for Auckland
  • Improve mental wellbeing of the workforce, especially women, youth and SMEs
  • Increase participation of women and youth in good jobs.

Key stakeholders

  • Activate Tāmaki Makaurau programme
  • Community and Social Innovation (Auckland Council)
  • Employers, unions
  • Ministry of Social Development
  • Tāmaki 10,000
  • Whāriki Māori Business Network

Creating shared prosperity for the region’s workforce through the circular economy especially for South and West Auckland

Actions

Timeframe: Short-medium term

The RSLG supports the workforce to identify the critical green skills required for Tāmaki Makaurau to develop a sustainable and circular economy model supported by its workforce:

  • Work with The Southern Initiative to support workforce capability for the circular economy for Tāmaki Makaurau in South and West Auckland, especially for the Māori and Pacific workforce in a way that aligns with their kaupapa and whenua values.

The RSLG supports a large-scale endeavour like the Eco Park to create green economy workforce opportunities in South Auckland, especially for the Māori and Pacific workforce

The RSLG advocates working with industry to support workforce upskilling for green skills and prepare the workforce for the green transition owing to climate change impacts

The RSLG promotes a worker-enabling and responsive public transport system where workers across Auckland are able to reach their workplace efficiencies using public transport, especially reaching those areas of concentrated high employment.

Expected outcomes

  • To grow and share the region’s prosperity more fairly across the workforce, especially for Māori and Pacific workforce. 
  • To transition the workforce with skills supporting a clean, green and carbon neutral New Zealand. 
  • To grow green skills and good jobs for people and the planet and support high productivity for the green transition to key industries of the region.

Key stakeholders

  • Auckland Council
  • Auckland Transport
  • Employers and unions
  • Ministry of Social Development
  • Tāmaki 10,000 
  • The Southern Initiative