Industry on the blocks in race for talent
THE DAIRY industry is being urged to think about how better to attract and retain the right people.
The industry-led project has been in the pipeline for two years and has attracted key industry partners including Beef and Lamb, BNZ, Livestock Improvement Corporation and Greenlea Premier Meats.
St Paul's is an independent day and boarding school based. Headmaster of St Paul's Collegiate School, Grant Lander, says St Paul's has been working with key groups in the ag sector, industry businesses and professionals and tertiary institutes to develop a curriculum that will produce tertiary-qualified students for the sector.
"The Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Science and Business is of national significance; we have been working with the industry to discover how we, as a country, need to be educating the next generation of agribusiness leaders," Lander says.
"This course isn't just for St Paul's students; we have designed this course with the whole country in mind, with the needs of the agricultural industry driving us to make a change in the New Zealand education system.
"St Paul's will set the template for the programme and work with a group of lead schools in 2015. In 2016, we will host a national conference and workshops for teachers who are interested in delivering the new curriculum.
"We will then offer the curriculum to secondary schools across the country in 2017, providing all students an opportunity to learn about the incredible career opportunities available to them within New Zealand's largest export industry," Lander says.
St Paul's students who choose the agribusiness programme as part of their NCEA curriculum will have access to a state-of-the-art learning centre that will boast video conferencing technology, connecting students with agribusiness professionals worldwide in a virtual classroom.
As well as launching the Centre of Excellence in 2015, St Paul's will expand and remodel one of the school's boarding houses. The opening of Williams House will complete the redevelopment of the school's four boarding houses, which are now some of the most comfortable boarding facilities in the country.
The Williams House redevelopment will accommodate 30 extra beds for an expected increase in demand for boarding spaces as a result of the Centre of Excellence initiative. The house will allow for enhanced pastoral care with tutor and housemaster residences included in the building.
The next 24 months will also see the build of a cutting-edge learning hub, similar to the learning hubs used in tertiary institutes such as Wintec.
