Level 9, 44 The Terrace
PO Box 27048
Wel ington, New Zealand 6141
P +64 4 462 5200
www.tec.govt.nz
6 July 2021
[INSERT NAME AS IN OIC] Workforce Development Council
[Address]
Tēnā koe [TBC]
Tuatahi, ka mihi ki a koutou e ōku nui, te hunga kua ngākau nui ki te hāpai i tēnei mea te mātauranga
ahumahi. He taonga tēnei momo mātauranga hei painga mo Aotearoa, hei tūara mā ōna rōpū
kaipakihi katoa, hei oranga hoki mā ōna whānau katoa.
Ko koutou ngā māngai o ngā pōari tuatahi. Na reira kia māia koutou, kia māia tātou i roto i ēnei mahi.
Ko tētahi kōrero tīpuna ō tōku wā kainga o Wairārapa, e pēnei ana- “i a maru te kori, kori tahi”. E hoa
mā, kia pērā tō tātou haere whakamua. Mā te whakatōpū haere tātou i roto i ēnei mahi, ka taea ngā
hua katoa e wawatia ana e tātou.
Heoi, ko te kōrero nui ia tērā, mai i a mātou katoa o ngā tari mātauranga- nau mai ki te kaupapa nei.
Tauti mai ki ō koutou tūranga hou i roto i ēnei kaunihera whakawhanake kapa kaimahi.
Kawea mai ngā ngaiotanga katoa i a koutou. Ngā tumanako, ngā wawata, me te āhuatanga ki a rātou
mā kua para rātou i te huarahi i mua i a tātou. Kāti, rātou ki a rātou, tātou te putea mahara ki a tātou.
Tēnā tātou katoa.
On behalf of the Reform of Vocational Education Programme Board and the education agencies, I
would like to congratulate and welcome you to this important kaupapa and significant development
in vocational education for our nation.
I would also like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the formal establishment of [INSERT NAME]
Workforce Development Council and the commitment and stewardship shown by your interim
Establishment Board. A number of people have worked extremely hard to make this happen and we
could not have done it without them.
There is stil much work to be done and TEC is looking forward to collaborating with you on ideas to
accelerate achieving the outcomes expected from the Reform of Vocational Education. The new
system is still forming and you have a great opportunity to help shape and influence its design.
Our vision for the future
The collective vision for vocational education and training is to create a system that is fit for the
future of work and delivers the skil s that learners, employers and communities need to thrive. It
should be designed around the needs of learners, employers, industries and the communities they
support and flexible enough to evolve as Aotearoa New Zealand and the rest of the world changes
and evolves.
A key to this vision is Workforce Development Councils being able to create real change by giving
industry a powerful voice into the education sector. Quickly developing a credible leadership
presence on behalf of your industries will be paramount to effecting change.
Delivering for Industry
Over the next 12 months, I expect you to start building strong connections with industry groups and
other Workforce Development Councils; demonstrating the involvement of industry in the
development of your plans; and ensuring industry qualifications and skill standards are relevant,
readily accessible and support improved outcomes for learners and employers.
To enable Workforce Development Councils to get up and running quickly, it was agreed that the
interim Establishment Boards would support the Workforce Development Council Establishment
Unit. This has required them to make a number of decisions on your behalf. These include things
such as draft organisation structures, which existing Transitional Industry Training organisation staff
have already been consulted on, as well as using a shared services model and initial cost allocations.
A schedule of these decisions is included in your induction pack. I am conscious that there are
Council members who were not on the interim Establishment Boards, but it is important that these
early decisions remain in place and are not re-litigated as we work towards 4 October 2021.
There are a number of ways that Workforce Development Councils can influence the shape and
design of the vocational education and training system and I would envisage you having a strategic
approach to using these levers to support your industries.
For example, the advice TEC will receive from Workforce Development Councils will assist us to make
decisions about sector strategies; inform our guidance to Tertiary Education Organisations on how to
shape their offerings of learning and training; inform our funding decisions for vocational education
and contribute to our careers advice and information. We are required to provide specific
information back to Workforce Development Councils on how we gave effect to your advice and this
will be a priority for TEC. Our collective maturity regarding the advice you provide and how we can
use it will grow over time.
As qualification development and standard setting are at the heart of Workforce Development
Council responsibilities, I envisage Councils working collaboratively with providers to ensure
education perspectives are appropriately considered as you determine the final design and
development of qualifications and standards. I would expect Workforce Development Councils to
work closely and constructively with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) in its
qualification and standards approval role and to ensure assessment is appropriately moderated.
NZQA must be able to assure learners and industry that Workforce Development Councils are
providing quality outcomes. I understand that NZQA’s preference is for a light touch to quality
assurance for the sector and I encourage you to work with them to establish this approach.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
The TEC expects that your Council’s structures and activities are designed and undertaken in a way
that contributes to an education system that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi, supports Māori-Crown
relations and ensures fair and equitable outcomes for all. This expectation is in addition to your
direct legislative requirement to have regard for the needs of Māori and other population groups
when performing your functions. As part of your contribution to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi, you
should consider in particular the Tertiary Education Strategy, Ka Hikitia and developing work from Te
Taumata Aronui. We will continue to work with you on achieving these goals.
Establishment Plan
The first year of activity for your Workforce Development Council is set out in the Establishment
Plan, which has been developed in partnership between interim Establishment Boards and the
Workforce Development Council Establishment Unit. Establishment Plans have been designed to
help focus your attention most effectively between now and the end of June 2022 on key
organisational development activities and starting to deliver on your functions as set out in the
Education and Training Act 2020. The plan must also document how you intend to support your
industries in light of the ongoing effects of COVID-19.
I acknowledge that Workforce Development Councils are unique organisations which are industry led
and government enabled. The TEC has an important role in monitoring progress towards the
deliverables in your Establishment Plan as we are responsible for reporting your progress and use of
funding to the Minister. Our monitoring and funding of your Establishment Plan will consider the
extent to which you are actively demonstrating how you deliver on the agreed activities. TEC is
committed to supporting you in the successful delivery of your plan.
The funding to be allocated to your Workforce Development Council until 30 June 2022 will be
provided as part of the final Funding Agreement. Once you approve your Establishment Plan, it must
then be endorsed by the TEC Board and approved by the Minister of Education.
There are specific conditions and measures attached to the funding and I have included a draft copy
of the Funding and Performance Agreement for consideration by the Workforce Development
Council Board. If you have any questions or feedback on this agreement please talk with us directly. A
final copy will be provided to you for signature as Chair of the WDC Board, which will occur following
approval of your Establishment plan.
Engagement
The TEC intends to work closely and col aboratively with you. To ensure we deliver on our
responsibilities and to effectively enable you to successfully achieve yours, Gillian Dudgeon, as
Deputy Chief Executive Delivery, and I will work directly with you and your Board. Our Business and
Partnership Team will lead the relationship and engagement with your Chief Executive and their
teams.
The Business and Partnership team will ensure the sharing of information and ideas with you and
from you, to inform the work our respective organisations need to carry out to support the wider
vocational education and training sector.
If you have any questions or concerns about your immediate or longer term priorities or if TEC can
assist you in any way, please contact Gillian Dudgeon who wil be happy to provide advice and
guidance.
I look forward to building and strengthening our relationship with you over the coming months.
Ngā mihi
Tim Fowler
Tertiary Education Commission, Chief Executive
