General Manager Industry Standards Mike Crossan on the move to Te Pūkenga April 6th, 2023 Hanga-Aro-Rau Workforce Development Council will this week say ka kite anō to its General Manager of Industry Standards, Mike Crossan, as he leaves to take up an exciting new conduit role between the WDC and New Zealand’s largest education provider, Te Pūkenga. Mr Crossan will join Te Pūkenga from Tuesday 11 April as the National Ako Director – Manufacturing, Engineering and Logistics. Dr Megan Gibbons DCE Academic Centre and Learning Systems said this is a new role created to be a direct connector between the two organisations. “Mike will work with Hanga-Aro-Rau and the manufacturing, engineering, and logistics training network on how we can together achieve our shared outcomes set out in the Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE), especially for industry and learners. We are thrilled to have Mike’s wealth of knowledge and experience within our tīma. Similar roles for the other five WDCs are also in the pipeline.” Hanga-Aro-Rau Chief Executive Phil Alexander-Crawford said Mr Crossan had been an integral part of the formation of WDCs since joining the WDC Design Group in 2019. He came to Hanga-Aro-Rau at their operational inception on 04 October 2021 and has been a central part of the ELT and the wider Hanga-Aro-Rau whānau. “While I am deeply sad to lose a colleague of Mike’s calibre, it’s a true win for both Hanga-Aro-Rau and Te Pūkenga to have him in this pivotal role that will enable us to build an even stronger connection between our two organisations and help create the system-wide transformation we seek,” Mr Alexander-Crawford said. “Mike has led the Industry Standards tīma proudly, guiding them to create robust systems and processes to achieve their immense qualification review and development mahi and setting them up for success. He was instrumental in forming the Paewhiri Mātauranga (Academic Rōpū) which approves new programmes of mahi for us, and the driving force for establishing our programme endorsement function. These are just some of Mike’s contributions to our organisation in his 18 months here,” Mr Alexander-Crawford added. Mr Crossan’s last day with Hanga-Aro-Rau is Thursday 06 April 2023. Mr Crossan is extensively experienced in vocational education: he started as a learner himself, gaining his mechanics qualifications as a young man before moving into training and teaching the next generation of learners 20 years ago at Wintec in Kirikiriroa, then leadership roles at Primary ITO. To assist the Hanga-Aro-Rau Industry Standards tīma, Strategic Change Manager – Equity Hagan Tautari will be acting GM, Industry Standards until a permanent appointment is made.
