Te Pūkenga's agriculture training is mostly done on the job. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Te Pūkenga's agriculture training is mostly done on the job. Photo / Michael Cunningham
OPINION
Te Pūkenga’s national ako director for food and fibre, Andrea Leslie, responds to Dr Jacqueline Rowarth’s opinion piece, saying the education provider is about creating something completely new, not “trying to maintain what we have”.
It is music to my ears to hear Dr Jacqueline Rowarth (Education and the workforce NZ needs for the future, New Zealand Herald, November 7) calling for action to inspire New Zealanders into the primary sector, as Te Pūkenga is moving well to do this, with the capacity and ability to back farmers “like the All Blacks”.
Te Pūkenga has brought together the primary sector training abilities of the former polytechnics and institutes of technology along with Primary ITO – the formerly standalone industry training organisation responsible for vocational training across agriculture, horticulture, food processing and a range of other related industries.
That is a work in progress, but the new national network gives the scale and expertise to ensure that farmers, and others in the primary sector, can develop the skills they and their people need, at the right time, and in the place that suits them.
It is looking to take the best of the former training models, but also find the best ways for people to gain the skills they need.
The approach we are moving towards is flexible, regionally responsive, and has many benefits for areas outside the main centres.
There are many examples of this dedication to making things better.
In agriculture training, most of the training is done on the job, learning from a skilled manager or employer, and making that learning count.
That can mean the assessment for milking training is based on learners completing key tasks using online learning tools. Uploading a short cellphone video of milking or feeding tasks to be marked is a world away from sitting in a classroom being lectured about milking or even completing a paper-based assessment.
National Ako director for food and fibre at Te Pūkenga, Andrea Leslie.
The work gets done, the employee gains skills and earns while they learn, and the broader farming sector gets the talented workers it needs.
Another example is the new ability to “stack” smaller pieces of education into a larger qualification. That’s something we’re now able to do in agriculture.
Employees can sign up for a “micro-credential” in one specific area, like milk quality - but - if they want to, over time they can enrol in subsequent micro-credentials until they complete a full New Zealand Certificate or even a New Zealand Apprenticeship.
That is not to say everything is perfect.
Dr Rowarth is right that the education system needs this sort of adaptation to continue, and we need to attract the next generation of these industries that are so critical to New Zealand’s economy.
Right now, economic conditions are tough on the farm and as a former farmer myself, I know how hard it is to prioritise spending on training when there are so many other things to spend money on.
We need to continue to work closely with key industry bodies like Beef + Lamb NZ, DairyNZ, Hort NZ, Seafood NZ, the Meat Industry Association, and many others, both on encouraging people into the industry and on helping them gain the skills they need to succeed, and then lead.
This is what Te Pūkenga is doing and will continue to do.
As Dr Rowarth noted, New Zealand needs to back farmers “like the All Blacks”.
Our vocational education system with Te Pūkenga has the reach, expertise and focus to achieve this.
Andrea Leslie is the national ako director for food and fibre at Te Pūkenga, as well as executive director of Primary ITO | Te Pūkenga and a long-time farmer in South Canterbury.
