The new NZITO is a merger of Seafood ITO and meat and dairy sector training organisations. The new entity will service at least 60,000 employees in the three key export industries.
The chairman of the new NZITO, Graeme Sutton, believes the merged entity will benefit the workforce. “Training offered through this enlarged ITO will carry more status in the primary sector and the community as a whole. Through its increased ‘buying power’ the ITO will be able to demand high standards of delivery from its training providers.
“There will also be greater emphasis on training skills transferable across the food export sector creating more opportunities for personal advancement.
“Progressively, we are going to see a workforce even more motivated about learning and self-improvement which we need to boost productivity.”
The new organisation also hopes to attract enterprising and capable people to these industries. With the pace of technological advancement these industries have a huge need for growing capability and joined-up training could make a real difference, says Sutton.
The benefits are not just for the trainees. Government has shown the benefits of a joined-up approach with the formation of the Ministry for Primary Industries.
There is a real recognition in Government of the need to get behind agriculture, adds Sutton. “It has been the Government’s preference to see significant amalgamation of ITOs in this sector. We believe this is the right way to go and we have been working hard to make it happen.”
The merger will also have industry benefits. There will be better coordination of the training effort and greater financial rationalisation with better use of governance and research resources and capabilities.
The move creates the potential for a strategically focused primary sector-wide ITO.
Meat Industry Association chief executive Tim Ritchie says ITOs provide training that many people would not otherwise get as it is delivered in the workplace and allows for the seasonal pressures of farming.
He says the quality of training means the benefits stretch beyond the meat industry.
As a result of the merger the NZITO board will be restructured with two representatives from each of the meat, dairy and seafood industries. SITO chair Mike McCredie becomes a NZITO board member.
Many of the Seafood ITO back-office functions will move to the NZITO offices in Hamilton with a small core group operating out of the SeaFIC offices in Wellington. A small field team with a seafood industry focus will be retained.
