Peter Alexander: EIT committed to education excellence

EIT in Taradale prepares students for their chosen career, says Peter Alexander. Photo / File

I am currently a temporary contract lecturer in commerce at EIT, teaching Kiwi and international students in respect of Strategic Marketing, Branding and Operations Management.

My commercial background mainly reflects senior management roles (CEO/ GM/ COO), and working as a business adviser in the Hawke's Bay Region within the HB Chamber of Commerce organisation during 2016.

My commercial experience includes merging commercial entities and leading national franchise operations, and I have worked across primary, secondary and retail industries. For those who are interested in my background, you can find out more here: www.realworldconsulting.kiwi.

I have decided to write as an objective individual in order to dispel myths about the quality/ relevancy/ contemporary nature of tertiary education provided by EIT; for my concern is that these myths may be serving to influence Hawkes Bay-based people to unnecessarily attend (or have their family members unnecessarily attend) tertiary courses outside of Hawkes Bay due to the perception that the quality of tertiary education delivery by other providers (particularly those in larger centres) is somehow superior and/or more "real world" relevant and/ or more up-to-date.

I am delighted to be involved working with a team of highly competent people in the School of Business at EIT who are providing both Kiwi and international students with commercial knowledge and skills that are both practical and which most certainly has/ have current real world relevancy and application.

What this orientation (style of education delivery) is enabling is a new breed of business owner/manager coming through. People who have the "practical" skills/ knowledge/ capability to "hit the ground running" adding significant tangible commercial value to organisations that they enter or start-up.

More so, this new breed of business owner/ manager has the capability to harness the skills and strengths of other people, to work collaboratively and co-operatively with colleagues in order to realise commendable productivity levels and growth opportunities.

These students are being taught that working in "silo" workplace cultures is counter-productive to achieving business development and growth objectives. This new breed is being armed with a skill set and knowledge base which is transforming them into effective communicators and leaders - people who know how to lead in a manner which cultivates a workplace culture that is underpinned by principles of inclusivity, transparency, collaboration and cooperation.

Why this focus on skills/ capability development ? Because history tells us very clearly that going forward if New Zealand wants to experience a positive change in the survival rate of Kiwi businesses and general improvement in the wellbeing of our citizens, the answer lies not in encouraging still more Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SME's) to start-up, but instead through leading people to combine their strengths and skills to achieve overall greater scales of operation and productivity per Business Unit - to then have more Kiwi businesses achieve a level of critical mass (operation) which will enable them to drive their own development/ growth further without relying so much on external financing of the measures/ resources/ R & D needed to realise this development/ growth.

The answer to New Zealand's woes in respect of insufficient central government funding being available to address the needs of particular segments of Kiwi society more appropriately, is intrinsically linked to "productivity". Without achieving heightened productivity (and therefore a larger pool of income tax revenue that becomes available for central government redistribution) it is simply not affordable for our country to raise the level of government expenditure to address whatever the identified priority needs of different interest groups may be.

In my view, this evolutionary course to pursue heightened productivity starts with the "consolidation and unification" of human resources throughout New Zealand - where people are brought together in organisations based on aligning the strengths and skills of individuals and organisations (often referred to as "symbiotic relationships"); and through delivering education which is orientated towards instilling "practical" commercial skills/ knowledge/ practices that is/ are proven to give rise to successful sustainable organisations.
In my view EIT is one such education provider that is proving itself to be capable of - and committed to - bringing out the best in individuals; enabling students to be the best that they're capable of being in their chosen pursuits.

Peter Alexander is Director of Real World Consulting Limited and is currently lecturing at EIT.