17 May 2021
A major milestone was reached on Thursday 13 May when the six Orders in Councils to establish the new Workforce Development Councils were published to the New Zealand Gazette. The Orders will come into effect in 28 days’ time, on or about Friday 11 June.
Between December 2020 and February this year, more than 214 people and organisations provided feedback on the draft Orders – including Competenz. The Minister of Education considered all feedback received during the consultation process and made changes to the proposals where appropriate.
The next step is for the appointment and nomination committees to confirm people to governance roles in each of the WDCs. They are on track to complete this work before the end of June.
The WDCs will cover every industry in New Zealand and have now been given the following names:
- Hanga-Aro-Rau – Manufacturing, Engineering and Logistics
- Waihanga Ara Rau – Construction and Infrastructure
- Muka Tangata – People, Food and Fibre
- Toi Mai – Creative, Cultural, Recreation and Technology
- Community, Health, Education and Social Services
- Services Industries.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins said: "The newly formed Workforce Development Councils will play a fundamental role in creating a unified vocational education system that will bring together industry and educators to make sure New Zealand’s workforce is fit for today’s needs and tomorrow’s expectations.
They will have a forward, strategic view of the future skills needs of industries and will help industry achieve greater influence over what and how training is delivered, by influencing government investment, setting skill standards and playing a leadership role across their relevant industries.”
Read more about this update here.
