Skills Action
Welcome to the August
edition of Skills Action, a free e-newsletter from the Department of Labour.
Here, we bring you updates about the Skills Action Plan and other initiatives
and information on lifting skills.
What is the Skills Action Plan? It's a whole-of-government strategy to lift
the capacity of New Zealand's workforce so we can better meet the demands of
the future. It's about:
The Jobs Jolt - tackling skill shortages and getting more Kiwis into work
Government announced a new $104.5 million jobs package on 4th August. The Jobs Jolt aims to help get people off benefits and into employment, and address the shortage of skilled labour.
The ten initiatives will assist employers facing skill shortages, the long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, long-term sickness and invalid beneficiaries, mature job seekers, young people, and those made redundant.
Just some of the initiatives:
Find out more about the Jobs Jolt.
Skill New Zealand campaign kicks off
A new campaign to alleviate skills shortages through
promoting workplace learning was launched recently. The Skill New Zealand Campaign
aims to get 250,000 New Zealanders learning on the job by 2007.
Speaking at the July 31st launch at Format Print in Petone, Social Development and Employment Minister Steve Maharey said, "If we are to compete successfully in the global economy, and improve New Zealanders' quality of living, we must redress our skills shortages."
The campaign, a joint initiative between the Government,
Business New Zealand and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, aims to help
do just that by promoting workplace learning and industry training among workers
and employers.
Not only will the economy benefit, but the campaign has the added spin-off of fostering ongoing collaboration between industry, unions, employers and Industry Training Organisations. As Simon Carlaw, Chief Executive of Business New Zealand, says, "Effective workplace learning must be driven from the bottom up, recognising the needs of both employers and employees across business and industry."
Just a note - you might remember that Skill New Zealand used to be the name of the organisation that managed the Government's contribution to Industry Training. The Skill New Zealand brand has been re-used here because "it best expresses the desire to skill New Zealand workers, especially those with little or no connection to the industry training system".
Find out more about the Skills New Zealand campaign.
Halfway through their year-long programme, the
regional employment skills fora organised by the Ministry of Social Development
are proving a hit with locals. Attendance is averaging roughly 120 at each
forum. To date, seven events have been held, including the inaugural Nelson
forum on 4th March. Auckland North and South, Waikato Central, Dunedin and
Northland have also hosted fora.
The Ministry of Social Development's Anne Stevenson is helping to co-ordinate the fora. She says their structured nature allows those attending - local employers, business and community leaders, voluntary and community agencies, worker representative organisations, training providers, and government agencies - plenty to get their teeth into.
"The fora allow participants to share ideas and exchange information on issues unique to their region, including local skill gaps and market shortages. They also provide a collective approach to decision-making and are very much action-oriented in seeking solutions to local employment issues. They're certainly proving a hit with locals."
One common theme coming out from each region is how crucial regional planning and regional assessing of future employment and labour market needs is. And not just the planning, but carrying it through into the decisions made by education and training providers, schools, young people, and employers.
The action-orientation Anne talks about is coming
from the working parties that the regions are establishing. The working
parties are focussing on making progress on a range of issues identified,
or honing in on specific issues. For example, a working party in Blenheim
has been established to research skill gaps and identify solutions.
A further six fora are planned. A Canterbury forum is coming up on 21 August, and the last is scheduled for the Bay of Plenty on 5 December.
Update on the EDANZ/NZ Trade and Enterprise regional toolkit
NZ Trade and Enterprise and the Economic Development Association of NZ (EDANZ) are finalising their regional toolkit. The toolkit will help economic development agencies investigate regional workforce requirements over both the short and long term - including skill shortages - and aid their response to local skill shortage issues.
The toolkits will be available to EDANZ members by the end of August 2003. EDANZ Executive Director Ann Verboeket says that non-EDANZ members can contact her for a copy by the end of August. email: EDANZ Executive Director
Rotorua Skills and Knowledge Project
So that "The right people are in the right place with the right skills at the right time" for Rotorua employers.
'Right on' for Rotorua's Economic Development Unit led by Mark Rawson who informs Skills Action that their Knowledge and Skills Project is entering an all-important next phase leading to positive action for Rotorua employers.
Mark reports that the project's initial early stages involved an analysis of employer skill, knowledge and training gaps, carried out late last year.
Now, with the Waiariki Institute of Technology, Work and Income, the Tertiary Education Commission, Rotorua District Council and local employers, concrete plans are afoot to find, "The right people in the right place with the right skills at the right time." This is, as Mark describes, a "reform process for Rotorua as a destination and its employers".
"It's a whole of government in partnership with industry approach to a unique set of problems we face here. But having analysed the issues and come up with seven or eight key themes, we are ready to work with employers to focus on plugging the skills shortages needed to grow our region's future."
Mark says he's happy to share Rotorua's experiences with anyone who's interested and invites readers to find out more about Rotorua's success story so far by visiting their website
Mark Rawson, Rotorua Economic Development Unit Manager - RDC
Southern pilot fulfilling objectives
Close to 30 migrants and their families have moved to Southland/Clutha since a New Zealand Immigration Service pilot initiative launched there a year ago. The 18-month pilot, a joint venture between NZIS and the Southland and Clutha economic development agencies, is one of two regional initiatives. These aim to boost regional growth through immigration by bringing the benefits of skilled migrants to regions other than Auckland. A second pilot is operating in the Wellington region.
NZIS Regional Immigration Initiative Co-ordinator, Kersti Taylor, says the Southern pilot scheme has focussed strongly on fulfilling its three key objectives -
- educating local employers about the benefits of skilled migration and NZIS policy, targeting appropriately skilled migrants, and providing settlement assistance and advocacy on behalf of local employers and migrants.
"Recently NZIS held a migration clinic for local employers to meet directly with us about migrant employment issues and our work with these two economic development agencies," Kersti said. "It helped us learn how we can work alongside regions to fulfil their skill shortage needs and to create a positive environment for migrants to settle successfully and integrate into the community."
Changes to immigration policy - actively recruiting skilled migrants
A new Skilled Migrant Category will replace the Immigration General Skills Category - this will come into effect towards the end of 2003 or early 2004. This change to immigration policy aims to promote more active recruitment of migrants with the skills that New Zealand needs.
It will build on the current points-based system, with a new focus on meeting New Zealand's needs and on settlement outcomes. The change is designed to end 'the professional-driving-taxi' scenario, according to the Minister of Immigration. Prospective migrants will be able to register their expressions of interest, and only those who are invited to apply for residence will be able to lodge a formal application for residence.
Talents Visas will remain as a key part of the strategy to attract talented people to work in New Zealand. Over 540 skilled migrants have already been approved for Talent and other Work-to-Residence visas or permits.
Find out more about the change to immigration policy.
Rural-based regions improve - regional labour market reports
Taranaki, Waikato, Manawatu-Wanganui, Nelson-Marlborough-West Coast, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne-Hawke's Bay had the most improved labour markets for the year to March 2003, according to regional labour market reports released by the Department of Labour.
These regions all saw their unemployment rates fall, their labour force participation rates rise, and they generally experienced strong job growth:
The strength of the New Zealand economy improved national labour market conditions further, lowering the unemployment rate to 15 year lows, the report says.
However, the report warns of a weakening outlook in the New Zealand economy over the next year due to a sharp fall in export returns caused by the rise in the exchange rate and the staggering world economy. A weakening in economic growth is expected to lead to a worsening of labour market conditions in 2003/04, with lower employment growth.
To read the labour market report for your region, click here
More labour market reports - just released and coming soon
Out now - the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) and Household Labour Force Surveys (HLFS) from Statistics NZ.
The QES for the May 2003 quarter shows wage rate increases at their highest level for six years.
The HLFS for the June 2003 quarter, released on 8 August, found the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate standing at a 16-year low of 4.7 percent. An estimated 95,000 people were unemployed in the quarter, compared to 99,000 in March 03 quarter, and 102,000 a year previously.
More information at Statistics NZ
Look out also for the next report on skills in the labour market. It will be published soon on the Department of Labour website
Some teasers from the report:
Skills development & training survey findings released
Survey findings on skills development and training among Business New Zealand member enterprises show that 74 percent of survey respondents believe that skills development and training helped to improve their firm's performance.
Business New Zealand and the Industry Training Federation carried out the survey, with funding from the Department of Labour's Future of Work Programme.
While the survey doesn't give a general picture about skills development and training in all New Zealand businesses, it does show up some findings about the effect of training in the workplace on the responding firms.
According to the survey results, skill development and training was a key part of the business strategies for 49 percent of respondents. The survey also showed 89 percent of respondents said they were currently providing training for their employees and 95 percent were likely to offer training in the next 12 months.
The report, Business NZ Skills and Training Survey 2003, is available online at the Future of Work website.
Population and sustainable development - a window of opportunity to upskill the future workforce
New Zealand has a window of opportunity right now to make sure our young people are as skilled as possible, and can take their place in the labour market of the future. That's one of the key findings of a recent report on the impact of population on New Zealand's sustainable development.
Population and Sustainable Development 2003 notes that trends such as the reduced number of working-age people in NZ mean "the quality of our investment in young people will be paramount if they are to participate fully in society and the economy and to support the older population."
"Looking ahead to the labour market of the 2010s and 2020s we need to remember that the innovative entrepreneur or dropout of 2015 is currently in the key formative years of development. We need to ask whether we are doing enough to ensure that this smaller group of new workers is fully prepared."
The report was released by the Ministers of Economic Development, Social Development and Employment, Labour, Immigration, and Environment and Urban Affairs. It was developed in line with the Government's Sustainable Development Programme of Action, released at the beginning of the year.
You can download the report from the Ministry of Social Development or request a hard copy by calling Julia Hodge, Department of Labour, on 04 915 4031.
Need more information on skills issues?
You might like to check out the second
edition of workINSIGHT, the Department of Labour's six-monthly skills report.
This edition takes a look at the pathways young people are following out of
school. Visit the
Department of Labour website to download a PDF or order a hard copy.
For all the government information you need on skills
and work, visit WorkSite. If you have
a question about skills and training, employment or growing your business,
WorkSite can help provide some answers. Or try the government portal providing
business information online.
While not specifically about skills, Mosaics is a useful new resource from the Ministry of Social Development. It's essentially a toolkit for central government, local authorities, businesses and communities on the best ways of working together to achieve common goals. Go to the Ministry of Social Development to download Mosaics.
The Social Report from the Ministry of Social Development, finds Kiwis living longer, healthier lives. We're also better educated, earn more and are safer than in 1996. But, average outcomes for Maori and Pacific peoples are poorer than the national average, and young people are clearly identified as a priority for social investment. More ....
Visit the Department of Labour website for more information on Skills Action Plan initiatives.
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