Progress report: December 2022

Overview

The first Hawke's Bay Regional Workforce Plan (RWP) - released June 2022 - reflects the current and future labour market skill needs in our rohe and is the start of a collaborative journey to increase the wellbeing of our people. It provides a common starting point and supports a shared understanding of the mahi (work) that needs to be done to improve the skills of kaimahi (workers) and increase regional productivity.

As we progress RWP actions, our focus is on brokering working arrangements with important partners and coordinating actions. We have engaged a number of stakeholders to progress our actions, including Matariki, the Food & Fibre Centre of Vocational Excellence, Skills Consulting Group, Hawke’s Bay Youth Futures Services Trust, Amotai and the Ministry of Education amongst others.

Progress

Partnerships

Pre-employment: we know how important it is for whānau to have a positive start to their careers. Early on, we identified the need to make sure that Hawke's Bay is a leader in supporting the pre-employment needs of its potential workforce. Building on our partnership with the Hawke’s Bay Youth Futures Trust, the RSLG has brokered an arrangement with the Food and Fibre Centre of Vocational Excellence (FFCoVE) to complete a detailed stock take of regional pre-employment programmes, looking at delivery and outcomes.
Co-lab Hub: Regional partners are also being engaged to establish a regional co-lab hub involving employers, jobseekers, pre-employment and pastoral care providers. The coordination of pre-employment research including a regional map of services, a network of practice and an understanding of what works really well in our region is on track. We are partnering with Matariki and Amotai to explore further opportunities that progressive procurement could provide for local Māori and Pasifika businesses.

Upskilling

Feedback to RSLG members indicate a significant proportion of workers have valuable work experience but no formal qualifications and this limits career options. The RSLG is collaborating with Matariki Pou 2 to investigate how to recognise prior learning through options such as provider assessments and micro-credentials. We have engaged with around 80 students across the rohe about how rangatahi see their career futures. This complements work the RSLG is doing with the Ministry of Education to deliver careers workshops with career advisors and industry representatives.

Planning and connecting

The RSLG has worked on a hui with Waihanga Ara Rau which enabled construction kaimahi to meet to discuss their various workforce issues. We also worked with the Hawke’s Bay Youth Futures Services Trust to run a hui to support providers to complete their pre-employment Services Mapping Report. This hui is now the beginning of the professional practice network. The Ministry of Education have worked with us and other regional stakeholders to progress the regional implementation of the NCEA Change Plan. This will ensure there are clearer pathways to further education and work. We have worked with the Hawke's Bay Chamber of Commerce, Ministry of Social Development, EIT Te Pūkenga, and district councils to establish a business connector role that will assist small and medium sized enterprises with their workforce recruitment, retention and training pathways.

Labour Market Intelligence

As a key leadership group in Hawke's Bay, we acknowledge the importance that quality labour market information has in planning our strategic direction. We are committed to gathering and sharing information so we can make informed decisions that improve labour market outcomes. This is demonstrated in sharing our Local Insights Reports, where we regularly promote the community voice to key regional partners and stakeholders.

Leadership development

We are progressing work to scope leadership development programmes in the primary and construction sectors. We have identified the opportunity to align this action with the Food & Fibre Excellence Framework, and the Training and Career Framework Project (under the FFCoVE) that are looking at leadership development programmes.

Supporting Participation in Education

The RSLG has been working alongside nine other Government Agencies to improve attendance participation and engagement in education. This mahi is based on an approach that listens to the whānau voice. Our role is to provide advice about alternative pathways into education and employment.

Next Steps

We will continue to support the development of the co-lab hub and unlocking social procurement opportunities. The foundation for these pieces of work will be based on our partnership with the Matariki Regional Leadership Group which will be supported by a shared Memorandum of Understanding.

In April 2023, we will be providing advice to Tertiary Education Commission about regional training priorities. This advice will be based on the collaborative mahi we have done across the region to understand the needs of workers, employers and communities.

We will publish an update in June 2023, which will detail our progress on the areas identified above. This refreshed RWP will also signal future priorities and explain more about how we are working with existing regional players to address other labour market issues we have identified, such as the health workforce and driver's license support.