Hanga-Aro-Rau (Manufacturing, Engineering and Logistics) Workforce Development Council works with industries such as Manufacturing, Processing, Extractives and Drilling, Transport, Postal, and Warehousing.
We work across businesses, sectors and industries to coordinate efforts to identify workforce needs. Then we support the vocational education and training system and employers to meet those needs. Skills leadership is the term we use to describe all the things we do.
We use research and information from a variety of sources to get insight into what New Zealand’s Vocational Education needs are. Research findings and data help us to understand both how things are now and also help predict future skills and workforce needs. Get in touch here if you have research you would like to share.
We may commission or partner with organisations or bodies to carry out research. We are interested in those areas that are key to understanding skills and workforce needs. If you have identified an area that warrants further research, then contact us to let us know. We may be able to point you towards some useful sources of information or research. Or we may work to gather information to help you.
Skills and Workforce Leadership plans drive the work we do to ensure the needs of industry are met. Every year we develop a plan. It covers Industry context, the key challenges and opportunities, and the outcomes industry are seeking for its workforce development. Then we plan activities to help industry to meet current and future skill requirements.
These plans are a key tool to coordinate industry efforts to improve the match between skills supply and industry demand. We work to future-proof skills pipelines. By planning we can identify the advocacy activities we will prioritise based on industry needs.
In everything we do, our eye is on the development of skills New Zealand’s workforce needs. Our team is connecting the dots between government agencies, industry groups, iwi, hapū or Māori organisations, regional bodies, providers, schools and policy makers.
We make sure industries voice gets heard in Vocational Education. It’s about addressing skills deficits and shortages, by working with those who have an impact on skill and workforce pipelines to meet skill and workforce needs.
We get involved in marketing and promotion as well.
We work with Career Services offered by the TEC. Career Services is aimed at people starting a career or making a career change. It supports people to understand the range of roles available to them; and the skills required to support them, when they start or make the change.
We have a role in providing advice to TEC on investment in vocational education. We provide advice on the overall investment in vocational education, and the mix of vocational education and training. Our advice helps TEC funding decisions consider industry needs, to help match skills and workforce demands with supply. It also influences equity of outcomes and participation in the VET system for all learners and assists providers to be more responsive to industry needs.
We provide brokerage and advisory services to connect, and support industries so they are better equipped to meet their skills needs. We guide industries on the importance of vocational education and training and improving learner and worker experience in their industries
Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills, the Honourable Penny Simmonds, has announced an update on the upcoming redesign of the vocational education and training system.
This includes a return to stand-alone Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics and the disestablishment of Workforce Development Councils (including Hanga-Aro-Rau), replaced with Industry Skills Boards.
Rest assured that business continuity will remain a priority, and we will keep our stakeholders up to date with any developments. We expect to find out more in early 2025, with the new system expected to start in Jan 2026.
Please visit our Changes to Vocational Education and Training page for more information. You can read the press release HERE.
Have a wonderful Kirihimete
and a safe and relaxing New Year… We’ll see you in 2025!
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