Feedback sought on new, simplified qualifications for seafood workers

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Muka Tangata, the Workforce Development Council for the food and fibre sector, is seeking feedback from people here on new, simplified qualifications for seafood workers.

Chief executive Jeremy Baker said the proposed new qualifications are easier for everyone to understand and easier for education and training providers to deliver.

“Having a fit-for-purpose, flexible, and future-proof suite of qualifications for the seafood industry will ensure learners are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attributes to succeed.”

The total seafood workforce has been relatively stable over the last five years, but the industry is reliant on migrant labour and struggles to attract and retain a New Zealand-based workforce. Learning numbers have been dropping since 2014, with a sharp decline in 2019, and only a slight increase again in 2021.

“Industry has told us that the existing qualifications are not flexible enough to meet industry need and that changing that will be critical to the successful delivery of training for the seafood industry,” Mr Baker said.

“We have been working closely with industry to develop options that maximise flexibility.”

The proposed new qualifications have been developed in partnership with  the industry through a review of the seafood processing, commercial  fishing, and aquaculture qualifications.

Targeting early-stage training at levels 3, 4 and 5, the proposed qualifications include development of new micro-credentials to ensure training is more flexible, focused on key skills and offering pathways to other qualifications, with a shared core of te ao Māori, wellbeing, health and safety and communication.

This is the first qualifications review undertaken by Muka Tangata and has progressed quickly, taking less than six months to get to this point. Muka Tangata anticipates new programmes to be available by June 2024.

Industry representatives who were involved in the review welcome the process and proposed changes.

Westport Deep Sea Fishing School director Peter Maich says the process has been genuinely collaborative and engaging.

“Muka Tangata has fronted up, getting their people out with feet on the ground to look and listen to industry and find out what’s needed. We’re genuinely working together on an outcome we all want, to simplify qualifications and ensure transferability of learning across the seafood sector.”

The proposed structure achieves that with micro-credentials providing opportunities for people to have a taste of the industry without needing to commit and still come away with transferrable qualifications, he says.

“Another benefit is that micro-credentials could offer providers potential access to additional funding streams.”

Che Todd, aquaculture and training manager at Whakatōhea Mussels Ltd in Ōpōtiki said the proposed qualifications provided the flexibility the industry needs to build skills, attract and retain people and simplify the process for businesses.

“With aquaculture set to be a $3 billion industry by 2035, upskilling people in a way that works for learners and for businesses is crucial.

“Muka Tangata has brought a genuine desire to make a difference and to do things differently, with a refreshingly inclusive and engaged approach to working with industry to come up with solutions.

“They’ve canvassed widely, bringing together a lot of people with different perspectives, looking at our needs as an industry as well as what we can learn from others. They’ve also been great at communicating, consistently capturing information and feeding back to come up with solutions that work.”

Bill Robertson, compliance and development manager at O P Columbia, said the proposed way of structuring the qualifications was more engaging and would help introduce and retain people in the industry.

“It offers people more flexibility with visible pathways through the industry and with the unit changes at entry levels, will help introduce people to the industry.

“It will also be far simpler to administer than the current structure, where there are a lot of units and a level of repetition that can be confusing. This should eventually be filtered out.”

Public consultation on the draft seafood qualification suite closes on October 31.

Once feedback has been analysed and further meetings held as needed, the qualifications will be finalised and provided to NZQA for approval and to training providers for delivery.