Last year we worked across the food and fibre sector during consultation on the Government’s proposed reforms to the vocational education and training system in Aotearoa New Zealand. Thank you to all who took the opportunity to advocate for the needs of our sector during the consultation period.
On 20 December 2024 the Government announced their plans for a new vocational education system.
You can read the Minister’s announcement here: Vocational education and training decisions support return to regions | Beehive.govt.nz
Minister Simmonds has indicated that the functions of Workforce Development Councils (standards setting, quality assurance, workforce analysis and planning, and providing advice on funding to the Tertiary Education Commission) will be taken over by new entities known as Industry Skills Boards.
We’re committed to making the transition as smooth as possible and will keep you up to date with any important updates or changes. There will be further consultation at some point in 2025 about the scope of coverage of Industry Skills Boards, which will be of interest to the food and fibre sector.
The Minister will be seeking further feedback from industry on how work-based learning should be structured, and WDCs will continue to operate in the interim. We value the role of work-based learning in the food and fibre sector, and are committed to ensuring continued delivery in ways that meet industry and employer needs.
Read the key points of our submission, and our full submission document:
The consultation document set out three key proposals:
It is anticipated that the new system will come into effect in 2026. During the coming year, and over the transition period, our focus remains on delivering solutions to meet the needs of industry, Māori agribusiness, learners, and employees in the food and fibre sector. We will continue to undertake our functions and work plan as laid out in our 2024-2026 Operational Plan. Our qualifications development projects, quality assurance, and work on our Workforce Development Plan Roadmap actions will continue until the end of June 2025 as planned.
More information and resources will be added to this page, so watch this space.
We will also continue to share news and updates on our website news feed, Linkedin, and Facebook pages.
