RoVe news and updates

Te Whakahou i te Mātauranga Ahumahinga | Reform of Vocational Education 

news

Te Pūkenga introduced to Aotearoa

Te Pūkenga has launched a national campaign to introduce Aotearoa to the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, and inform them how the entity will support learners and employers across the country.

Te Pūkenga Acting Chief Executive Peter Winder says the campaign is a key milestone, better integrating Te Pūkenga network and focusing on meeting the needs of ākonga (learners) and employers. The campaign has also included a revamped website.



Former Skills staff join Connexis at Te Pūkenga – Connexis team grows before final transition into Te Pukenga.

Connexis is now home to an additional 88 infrastructure industry-focused kaimahi (staff), formerly with the Skills Org Transitional Industry Training Organisation (TITO), who transitioned into WBL 01 October 2022.
Connexis is providing senior leadership oversight to what is now called Earn Learn covering the industries of apprenticeships and training for careers in Electrical, Plumbing, Gasfitting and Drainlaying  —  Scaffolding, Crane Operation, Industrial, Workplace Health and Safety.

We have been connecting into key industry groups and working with Waihanga Ara Rau who are undertaking a review of programmes, delivery methods and delivery capability across the motu to be able to better meet the needs of industry.



More education organisations join Work-based Learning Subsidiary (WBL)- Te Pūkenga
 
The transition of education entities into Te Pūkenga continues.

Transitional Industry Training Organisations Careerforce, HITO (Hair, Beauty and Barbering Industry Training Organisation), and Primary ITO (Primary Industry Training Organisation) have become the last group of training organisations to transition into WBL.

October also saw the transition of a further five Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) directly into the Te Pūkenga, which will ultimately bring 24 TITO and ITP organisations together.

READ MORE



Te Pūkenga organisational direction and design

Te Pūkenga has announced its future organisational structure, taking into account the huge amount of feedback received as part of the Tā tātou huarahi | Our pathway: engagement process.
The structure and the process can be viewed online at: Engagement | Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (tepukenga.ac.nz)

The leadership structure is designed to ensure the ongoing support of vocational and applied teaching and learning across the rōpū as we transition to a unified education provider.

As Te Pūkenga moves into the next phase of establishment, Connexis is committed to continuing our service uninterrupted to our employers and learners.

If you have any questions on how these changes may impact you or your organisation please contact askus@connexis.org.nz 



First full-year Te Pūkenga Annual Report released

The report brings together information from 16 independently operating Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) as well as Te Pūkenga Work Based Learning (WBL), which includes four former Industry Training Organisations (ITOs).

Read the report here.



Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology (Toi Ohomai) and Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) moved into Te Pūkenga on 31 May 2022

This early move by the two subsidiary Institute of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) marks the first time ākonga will be directly part of the new national vocational education provider, rather than a regional subsidiary. The remaining 14 Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics will transition to Te Pūkenga by 1 January 2023. Read more.

Meanwhile, the remaining transitional ITOs continue to move into Work Base Learning subsidiary of Te Pūkenga with Service Skills Institute (ServiceIQ) transitioning on the 1st of July followed by Careerforce, HITO and Primary ITO. Skills will transition some of its functions to Work Base Learning subsidiary of Te Pūkenga and several other providers.



Unified Funding System (UFS) and 2023 Pricing

The new Unified Funding System (UFS) for the delivery of vocational education and training will take effect from 1 January 2023. The UFS is an essential element of the Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE).

The UFS, the design of which was approved by Cabinet in December 2021, aims to encourage vocational education that focuses on learners, makes more work based training options available, supports employers, and addresses national and regional skill priorities.

The rates for the new Unified Funding System have now been released.

Learn more about UFS here.

2023 Pricing

We understand employers need certainty to plan for future training costs and we are working with Te Pūkenga and the Work Base Learning subsidiary to confirm the pricing structure for 2023.

What we do know:

  • At Connexis, we plan to move our pricing to a full-service model for 2023. This is an extension of how we have been operating under TTAF.  This is where we provide the full cost of the programme upfront and then coordinate paying all the assessment and provider costs associated with the training.
    • Once we have had confirmation on the pricing approach for 2023, we will come out to you with more detail.
  • Tertiary Education Commission are working on the employer contribution requirement under the new Unified Funding System. This will be launched in 2024.


Te Pūkenga agrees plan to improve outcomes for disabled learners: The plan provides a unified national strategy across the Te Pūkenga network of Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics, and Industry Training Organisations. Read more.



Te Pūkenga to launch nationwide brand campaign to increase brand awareness: It will also explain the relationship between Te Pūkenga and the Institutes of Technology, Polytechnics, and Industry Training Organisations. The campaign will come ahead of changes in January 2023 that will see all learners in subsidiaries enrolled as Te Pukenga learners. Connexis has been part of the Te Pūkenga whānau since September 2021.



The Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE) is creating a strong, unified, sustainable vocational education system that is fit for the future of work and delivers the skills that learners, employers and communities need to thrive.

While 2021 is shaping up to be a big one for the RoVE programme, there should be no disruption to Connexis trainees or their employers, who continue to be at the very centre of our decisions. We will ensure industry has a strong voice in any decisions made and we will keep you informed of all developments. Bookmark this page for updates.

For an overview of RoVE to date, visit the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) website. For a helpful overview of what RoVE is, its aims, the key changes it is making to vocational education please watch the animated video summary to the left.


Now Connexis has transitioned into Te Pūkenga subsidiary Work Based Learning Limited, we will no longer be sending out our monthly RoVE Bulletin. To get the latest news and updates on RoVE, visit this webpage or see the RoVE section of our bimonthly eNews.

What is happening in the different parts of the RoVE programme?
1. Te Pūkenga

As New Zealand’s largest tertiary education provider, Te Pūkenga will ultimately have the national and regional reach to become a long-term skills training partner for firms and industries, enabling learners to move between workplaces and other educational offerings and locations as their needs change.

Their Transition Pathway sets out the direction they will take to design the future of Vocational Learning in New Zealand. Their establishment and transformation programme through to 2022 will:

  • bring New Zealand's Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics and transition Industry Training Organisations (TITOs) into a single institution
  • transform the network, its delivery models, its Te Tiriti o Waitangi relationships, its physical and digital presence, and engagement approaches
  • actively manage the provider network, so we can continue to operate effectively during the transition period.

More information on the development of Te Pūkenga is available on their website, click here>>>

Latest Te Pukenga News

Te Pūkenga has mapped out the transition pathway. Check out the website.

Te Pūkenga has agreed a plan to improve outcomes for disabled learners. It provides unified national strategy across the Te Pūkenga network of Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics, and Industry Training Organisations. Read more.

2. Workforce Development Councils (WDCs)

Workforce Development Councils (WDCs) will help industry take a lead in making New Zealand’s workforce fit for today, and the future. Through skills leadership plans, they will set a vision for the workforce and influence the vocational education and training system.

That means, WDC's will set standards, develop qualifications and help shape the curriculum of vocational education. They will moderate assessments against industry standards and, where appropriate, set and moderate capstone assessments at the end of a qualification.

WDCs will also provide advice to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) on investment in vocational education and determine the appropriate mix of skills and training for the industries they cover.

WDCs will endorse programmes that lead to qualifications, whether work-based (such as apprenticeships), on-campus or online. Unless a programme has the confidence of a WDC, which is essentially industry confidence, it won’t be endorsed by the WDC nor funded by the TEC.

More information on WDCs is available on the Ohu Mahi website.

Get the latest information about WDC senior leadership appointments here.

Waihanga Ara Rau Construction and Infrastructure WDC

Connexis’ Standard Setting functions have transferred to Waihanga Ara Rau Construction and Infrastructure WDC. The exception is Rural Contracting, which will shift instead to Muka Tangata - People, Food and Fibre WDC.

Click here to find out more about the transition of the following functions to Waihanga Ara Rau:

  • Qualifications and standards
  • Consistency reviews
  • Interim programme support
  • National external moderation
  • Consent to assess
  • Consent and moderation requirements

More information and updates on Waihanga Ara Rau can be found on the website.

Latest WDC news

Transition of standard setting functions to the WDCs took place on 4 October 2021.

Latest Arranging Training news

To date, five TITOs have made the shift to a new provider. Connexis, Competenz, BCITO and MITO have transitioned to Te Pūkenga. NZMAC transferred functions to new Private Training Establishment (PTE) MAST Academy on 2 August 2021. 

Connexis is committed to looking after our industry’s needs. This motivated us to be one of the first TITOs to transition our Arranging Training so we can be an active participant in the establishment of the new system. By doing this, we aim to provide a seamless transition and retain the current skills, expertise and relationships within the vocational education sector, including our staff, assessors and providers.

3. Arranging training

While WDCs will take over the Standard Setting functions of Transitional Industry Training Organisations (TITOs), of which Connexis is one, there is still discussion around where TITOs’ Arranging Training responsibilities will transfer to under RoVE.

Arranging Training means working with industry and learners to develop training programmes that satisfy industry needs, signing employees up to work-based training, and providing support throughout the trainee journey.

Connexis' Arranging Training functions transferred into Te Pūkenga on 1 September 2021. Competenz, another TITO, transitioned into Te Pūkenga a month earlier, on 2 August. Followed by BCITO and MITO. Additional TITOs are shifting to Te Pūkenga, from 1 July 2022 onwards.

The remaining TITOs may choose to shift into Te Pūkenga as well, or may choose a Private Training Establishment or wānanga instead.

Te Pūkenga: Is a public entity, bringing together work-based, off-job and online vocational education and training through a unified, sustainable system providing nationwide training provision.

PTE: A Private Training Establishment is a privately owned organisation providing education or training eg. ETCO, iSkills, MITA Consulting, Vertical Horizons, WSP.

Wānanga: Wānanga are regarded as the peers of universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education and offer a uniquely Māori learning environment eg. Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

4. ConCOVE

A CoVE is a Centre of Vocational Excellence. CoVEs are designed to drive innovation and excellence in teaching and learning, while also improving links to industry and communities. They will be established around industries of particular importance to New Zealand.

The Construction and Infrastructure CoVE, known as ConCOVE, is one of the first to be established. Connexis was one of the organisations that led its formation. For more information, or to get involved and become a member of ConCOVE, click here go to their website.

5. Regional Skills Leadership Groups

The Regional Skills Leadership Groups were formed in June 2020 to identify and support better ways of meeting future skills and workforce needs in our regions and cities.​ They are part of a joined-up approach to labour market planning which will see our workforce, education and immigration systems working together to better meet the differing skills needs across the country.

More information, including how to get in contact with the group representing your region, is available on the MBIE website, click here. 


ROVE NEWS ARCHIVE

Have your say

We invite you to share your questions, comments and concerns with us so that we can represent industries views when we talk with officials.  If you’d like to discuss the changes in person, please also get in touch direct, or you can email us on haveyoursay@connexis.org.nz