CONCOVE BOARD MEETING MINUTES – 11 AUGUST 2021
NEXT MEETING: WEDNESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2021, IN PERSON
WELCOME AND ADMIN ATTENDEES: Co-Chairs
Phil Hokianga, Graham Burke
Board Members
Heather MacKay, Honor Columbus, David Fabish, Pamela Bell
General Manager
Bharti Raniga
In Attendance
Vanessa Nash (ConCOVE Executive Assistant), Stan Schwalger (Pasifika Advisory
Group Chair)
Apologies
Craig West, Amos Kamo, Martin Carroll, Nick Clayton
Kylie Nelio and Theresa Rongonui (Advisory Group Chairs)
AGENDA:
Whakatau and Karakia
Given by Phil
Administration Introductions
All
Register of Interests
Did not occur
Minutes of last meeting
Did not occur
Correspondence
Did not occur
Actions Table
Did not occur
Risk Register
Did not occur
Board-Only Time
Occurred
Closing Karakia
1. General Manager’s Monthly Report
1. Did not occur.
2. General Business
1. Acknowledge the passing of Amos’ family member, and those who aren’t present due to work issues.
2. Change to agenda - hoping to have three Advisory Group Chairs to give us a view on how they are seeing
ConCOVE, what they would like to also be able to provide to the Board - get their perspective. See how
we can build and work together, noting this is our start-up phase. 4/5 years of projects ahead of us.
3. Advisory Group Update
1. Pasifika Advisory Group Chair in attendance – Stan Schwalger
2. Introductions from Board to Stan.
3. Stan - introduction. Sent through a list of questions for Board - just to ask whether the Board has a
strategic plan for ConCOVE drive, how does this dovetail into Pasifika Advisory Group and their
objectives? If no strategy - are they to come up with their own? Reading vision and mission - how do we
bring more Pasifika into industry, how much leeway with own objectives, do we have budget? Answer has
been no. Based on first meeting, Stan was left confused what the direction of the group is. Have had
discussions with Bharti and Honor about this - any drive to create a new initiative needs to have a strategy
or direction to hit target, the impression Stan, and few group members have, perception is no directive
yet. Going off how bring more Pasifika into industry, first meeting was launching straight into
environmental and sustainability. We are still waiting for direction, shouldn’t be launching into detailed
queries from Project Leads until figure out direction.
4. We are going off what we submitted to TEC. Underrepresented groups are a part, but not all of the
project. We have a strategy, no set outcomes, we are still doing the environment scan of where we are at
across 5 projects, pulling together so that our project can kick off - tracking what’s good, what hasn’t
worked well and why. Pre-empting work of team who are doing study at the moment. Understand why
you would feel a bit confused given the change in direction at the last meeting at short notice, it wasn’t
intentional.
5. Stan - have a strategy, just don’t have objectives you can pass on that the Pasifika Advisory Group can
focus on. Before last meeting, asked whether we are to come up with our own strategy / objectives, or
start answering Project Leads questions. Seems cart before the horse.
6. Advisory Group teams provide glue that makes projects stick together. Easy to drop or formulate
solutions. Pasifika Advisory Group succeed in industry, how do we breed greater success. Preconditions -
things that we need to understand because they will affect all 5 projects. They impact all 5 projects. Plea
- bear with us, as we get to a point where we actually do have project outcome statements, and also
therefore, have sub statements that allow our Advisory Groups to input. We will also ask Advisory Groups
that we have got it right before we approve these statements.
7. Stan - see your point, but if we were to go off and set up our own strategy, directives, how we would bring
in more people, Maori and Women would do the same and it would be siloed. Sooner that Board comes
up with objectives, it will help head in same direction. Will need to tell Advisory Group it is pending, and
will come, we can comment and then set it in place. Are we on hold until you come up with that, and
when will you come up with objectives?
8. Understanding of why Board members and Advisory Groups are in place. Set up phase is about
connections, eyes and ears for Bharti and team, connecting to people in industry, programmes and
initiatives, and opportunities. All so aware of challenges and problems, now using the brain power in
group to identify where we can make changes. Understand frustration, channel this back to team, to land
in project areas, look at work that is coming out, and provide comment, to make them relevant to who we
represent. Understand tension as Chair - want group to feel useful. If they need specific areas to focus on
- document connections.
9. Stan - what levels do we aim for? Te Pukenga. Not just to fill gap of labourers and
tradespeople. Struggling to find people because of lockdown, poaching from each other’s projects to man
your own projects. While waiting for Board’s defined objectives to come through, if Pasifika Advisory
Group can come up with their own ideas, that would be a start. Requested through Bharti information
that could give a clearer picture of where they are at as Pasifika, how many Pasifika students are on
courses for trades, how many are enrolled through NZ through Polytecs, in each year - 1 / 2 / 3 - 2015 to
current to see trending, how many actually get all the way through, how many actual find
employment. Would show choke points in pipeline, where people leak out of the system. How can we
stop the leak? First how get them in, then stop the leak, then support them all the way through to viable
employment.
10. Excellent issues put to us. Personally, one big ConCOVE objective is how we train Vocational Education in
NZ to get better outcomes for example, Pasifika students. Maori and Pasifika have a higher dropout rate -
grappling for years to understand why, why are they not progressing through into supervisor / managerial
roles. Objectives for Pasifika Advisory Group - what is the best way for them to be trained? Do we not
have a one size fits all Vocational Education system, different systems for Pasifika that will work? A
responsibility to develop a system of training (pedagogy).
11. Thought ConCOVE would support Pasifika groups. A lot of trial and error in industry for Pasifika - research
can systematically say what is, isn’t working, and build on ones that are working. When ConCOVE came
along, she saw this research as beneficial, coupled with the Pasifika Advisory Group - walking the journey
with us. Putting forward initiatives from within the community what is working well. Need to give a bit of
space for discussions about initiatives we aren’t aware of. Be open to ideas or discussion pieces the
Pasifika Advisory Group feel are important and need to be considered as part of our
research. Sustainability - meeting discussion - some people had won awards, really knowledgeable in that
group. It didn’t come out. Hesitation to pass on contacts and connections for those initiatives. There is a
way that ConCOVE will have direct positive impact on Pasifika.
12. I believe we share your frustration, in discovery, this is the phase we are in, figuring out how we work with
entities that are themselves still taking shape. Natural to have questioning on our purpose. We share it,
might not have insight, but we can have a dialogue where you identify connections, purpose. Do the
three advisory group Chairs connect? Connect with co-chairs quarterly - share what are covering in
meetings, purpose, topic areas, making everyone feel useful is important.
13. Stan - important to feel useful, rather than used. First meeting - checked in after with group members,
didn’t feel it was what they were after. Felt they were feeding data from industry to a Masters project for
Masters students, provide data rather than outside the box, root causes of dropout rates for
Pasifika. Group will brainstorm what is happening with people, what they can do, when ConCOVE
objectives are clear, ConCOVE can then mine and find weaknesses in system. Cultural, support issue, type
of delivery, financial issue - all these we can provide data for you to help figure out the overall objective
from different groups and for ConCOVE to then provide direction to WDC and Te Pukenga. This is what
they signed up for.
14. Arrange meeting with Bharti, Graham, Phil, Honor, Stan before next meeting - next week. 1 hour.
15. Three projects are applicable, but other two projects still need attention. How can we empower Pasifika
Advisory Group to support us, and make their voice heard?
16. Stan - grateful those on Pasifika Advisory Group have been on pathway of Polytec, University, figured out
how to get through the gates and survive and make it into roles they are in now. They can see gaps, can
provide fresh ideas, can provide a real-world experience on what actually happened to us on their
journeys through tertiary system and getting to where we are now.
17. Last thing we want to do is alienate anyone.
18. Stan - don’t want to lose anyone. Feedback from members, not what they signed up for, are going to
bolt.
19. Important to realise we are here to support you, rather than use the group. Not the intention, we want
you to come up with Pasifika solution, what is not working, how it could work better. We want to
empower you. Let Phil and Graham know what your group needs from us.
20. Stan - need to provide support to Women, Maori, Pasifika at Unitec, University - massive dividends at little
cost.
21. Thank you to Stan for his time.
9.53am - Board only time.
