Productivity Partnership Newsletter December 2012

FEATURE

SKILLS SUMMIT 2012

One of the key levers that the building and construction sector can use to raise productivity is skills development. Greater industry skill levels will create significant momentum for improvement, for instance, better management skills will result in greater performance demands being placed on trade skills - lifting quality and lowering rework.

The Productivity Partnership’s Skills Summit 2012, held on 30 November in Wellington, followed up on the launch of our Skills Strategy in March by Minister of Labour, Kate Wilkinson. The Summit marked the start of the Skills Strategy Implementation Plan which will be rolled out in 2013.

“The Implementation Plan will step us through actions to lift productivity right up until 2020,” says Skills Workstream leader Ruma Karaitiana. “Many organisations involved in developing the strategy are already implementing the parts that relate to their business and it was great to have everybody in the same room to focus on a forward plan.”

The Summit was attended by around 90 people representing education providers, government agencies and the broader industry. Programme highlights included addresses on:

An industry panel discussion focused on the contribution of industry associations to the skilling of the existing sector workforce.

See the Skills Summit 2012 presentation papers.

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FEATURE

SECOND AUCKLAND PIPELINE REPORT LAUNCHED

On 16 November the Minister for Building and Construction, Maurice Williamson, launched the Auckland Procurement Programme’s Auckland Pipeline Report No.2 at an industry event in Auckland. The Report details some $2 billion of future spending on buildings across the region over the next three years, and another $6 billion being invested in infrastructure. It represents a significant source of critical management information for the building and construction sector.

Minister Williamson said the Auckland Procurement Programme allows industry and the Government to work together to ensure supply chains of products and skills are available at the right time in the right place and in a way that drives work forward rather than holding it back.

The second Auckland Pipeline Report aims to support improved efficiency and remove wasted effort from construction planning and delivery processes. It captures new data on the future state and nature of the Auckland construction market since the first report was published in March this year. The information in Auckland Pipeline Report No.2 covers public sector capital expenditure (new build, refurbishment and upgrading projects). In response to requests from the industry, it provides fuller details on the supply and trade sides of the market.

“It was brilliant to see about 120 construction company leaders and industry representatives together in the room, all pleased to share this critical information to assist future planning,” says Manager of the Productivity Partnership Secretariat Chris Kane.

Auckland Council Chief Operating Officer Ian Maxwell also spoke at the event and emphasised the importance of effective procurement in lowering both first cost and the ongoing costs of buildings.

As a major construction client and one of the few owners who hold onto property for a long time, the Government takes a keen interest in streamlining procurement. In his address, the Minister emphasised the huge part the building and construction sector has to play in lifting New Zealand’s overall economic prosperity, and the importance of good procurement practice.

“This Auckland Procurement Programme not only sets a new way for the sector in Auckland, but also sets the prototype for a similar programme in Christchurch to help speed up the rebuild, and also a national programme which will permanently aid productivity in New Zealand.”

See the Auckland Pipeline Report No.2.

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FEATURE

CANTERBURY PROCUREMENT FORUM

Building on the successful model established in Auckland, the Partnership has spearheaded the development of a Canterbury Procurement Forum. On 1 November some of Canterbury’s largest construction clients met with major contractors, CERA, government agencies, local authorities and a number of the Canterbury rebuild Programme Management Offices (PMOs) to put in place a procurement forum for Christchurch.

The need for greater shared visibility of the region’s work programme was agreed by those present. Getting procurement processes streamlined for the Christchurch rebuild is recognised as a big part of moving the rebuild forward without affecting quality.

The meeting broke into three groups to workshop issues specific to the following sectors:

“What was interesting was that the key issues for both the horizontal and residential sectors were operational, and the key issues for the non-residential and vertical sector were all about planning and how to get the work done,” says Productivity Partnership Programme Director Peter Cunningham.

Outcomes jointly agreed were:

These initiatives will be progressed at the next meeting this month.

Peter is impressed with the power of collaboration and how it can transform Christchurch.

“We’ve got the big construction clients in Canterbury all collaborating on a forward work programme and a positive spin-off of that is a shared commitment to quality standards in the rebuild,” says Peter. “This is also about leaving a lasting legacy in the region both in terms of the built environment – the new-look Christchurch – and also in terms of new approaches to procurement, which we hope will become standard practice so that tender selection in the future is not based on lowest cost, but value.”

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GUEST COMMENTARY

VALUE BUILDER – GARRY FISSENDEN

CHIEF EXECUTIVE, THE SKILLS ORGANISATION

A momentous year

The word momentous comes to mind when I look back on 2012. What was the Electrotechnology Industry Training Organisation (ETITO), with coverage for eight industries, in September became The Skills Organisation, which now covers 19 industries. This growth has also led to the development of a Specialist Trades division within the organisation.

The Specialist Trades division includes the telecommunications, electrotechnology, plumbing, drain-laying, gas-fitting, roofing, cranes, elevated work platforms, scaffolding, rigging and industrial ropes industries. Our other industries now include the ambulance, contact centre, financial services, offender management, public sector, local government, real estate and security industries.

Development pathways

As an ITO, one of our primary responsibilities is to help businesses increase productivity and workplace performance through the achievement of nationally recognised qualifications. The Skills Organisation is focusing on achieving this through partnering with organisations to provide development opportunities for staff and by providing a development pathway for learners from national certificate level through to degree level study. To provide these pathways The Skills Organisation is building innovative partnerships with Industry Training Providers (ITPS) to maximise learning opportunities and reduce barriers to success for learners.

The Skills Organisation recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Whitireia New Zealand and the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand that includes a focus on the development of pathways to higher-level qualifications in areas of relevance for our industries.

Increasing workforce performance

We’ve also entered similar agreements with Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi: indigenous university to better respond to the educational needs of learners who are already in employment. All of these partnerships aim to provide a pathway for trainees to progress through. We liken this to delivering an education ladder for the learner where each step increases their capability and delivers increased workplace performance too.

We also partner with business to provide New Zealanders with more opportunities to learn while they work. An example of this is Vodafone New Zealand who mapped The Skills Organisation’s National Certificate in First Line Management onto their Vodafone Retail Manager – Core Skills Programme. The initiative was recognised at the NZ Association of Training Development Awards where they received the Learning and Development Innovation Award.

The Skills Organisation has additionally been working with Vodafone to select Vodafone Technology Apprentices. Ten people have been selected to join this new apprenticeship scheme where they will spend the next two years working with Vodafone’s technology team whilst studying towards an NZQA accredited National Certificate in Telecommunications (Level 3).

The Skills Organisation will continue to develop partnerships with other organisations in order to improve productivity in the workplace. By increasing opportunities and developing pathways to higher level qualifications we will see businesses increase levels of productivity and efficiency.

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PARTNERSHIP PEOPLE

IAN ELLIOTT

PRODUCTIVITY PARTNERSHIP GOVERNANCE GROUP
MEMBER, FORMER ITO HEAD AND DIRECTOR OF
EDUCATION PERFORMANCE NZ

Ian Elliott has worn many hats over the last few years and he’s just about to put on a new one. Ian joined the Productivity Partnership Governance Group shortly after the Partnership was formed. At the time, he was Chief Executive of the Plumbing Gasfitting Drainlaying and Roofing ITO, which has recently become part of The Skills Organisation, and Chair of the Built Environment Training Alliance (BETA). While a sitting member he also became Chair of the Industry Training Federation. These connected roles have enabled him to ably provide a skills and training perspective at the Board table.

“I’ve always seen skills development as pivotal to increasing productivity,” says Ian. “The productivity challenge is very real and very worthwhile because, if we can achieve a 20% growth in productivity by 2020, it will have a huge impact on our economy and standard of living. I think people are starting to get that and the relevance of skills to all four of the Partnership’s workstreams.”

Ian has recently set up his own business, Education Performance NZ. He says it’s a logical progression from his background in the tertiary education sector and industry training. As well as his ITO leadership, Ian previously spent 18 months at the Tertiary Education Commission, leading the “on the ground” team funding polytechnics and ITOs. Earlier in his career he was on the management team at Aoraki Polytechnic.

He is now stepping down from the Governance Group but his association with the Productivity Partnership will continue. In 2013 Ian is coming on board to help with the implementation of the Partnership’s Skills Strategy. He sees it as an opportunity to apply his skills and broad experience in education in a focused and effective way.

Reflecting on his time on the Governance Group, Ian says the mix of industry leaders and government officials in the Group is a powerful combination. “It doesn’t happen often enough and I think the building and construction sector is very fortunate to be able to tap into that resource.”

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PEOPLE MOVES

APPOINTMENT

MBIE’s newly appointed Deputy Chief Executive (DCE) of Infrastructure and Resource Markets, Andrew Crisp, has joined the Productivity Partnership’s Governance Group. Andrew took up his new role at MBIE on 12 November.

“As DCE, I am responsible for the development of policy and the implementation of the Ministry’s programmes, which include the Building Act and its review, the policy review of the Licensed Building Practitioners Scheme and oversight of the policy relating to the Unit Titles Act,” says Andrew.

Before coming to MBIE, Andrew was Deputy Secretary at the Ministry for the Environment where he was responsible for its science and information function and for implementing programmes such as the Resource Management Act, Waste Minimisation Act and national environmental consenting and environmental standards.

Andrew has also held senior roles at Treasury and at the previous Department of Labour, where he worked in various policy fields, including fiscal management, labour markets, housing and social policy. Andrew is very much looking forward to working on the critical challenges within the building and housing sector.

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