Waikato Business News August/September 2020

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4 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS August/September 2020 Hill Labs acquires monitoring software Jane Sherrard Hill Laboratories has acquired New Zealand-based environmental management software Hilltop, used around the country as a water quality monitoring tool. Hilltop is used by most regional councils around New Zealand, as well as electricity generators. Hill Laboratories’ market sector manager environmental Dr Jane Sherrard says organisations undertaking monitoring and management of water throughout New Zealand need a reliable, easy-to-use resource to track water quantity and quality. “As an integral part of environmental data management systems, Hilltop can manage data, compute statistics and present the results.” Cycleway set for completion Completion of the Hamilton to Cambridge cycleway has been given the green light, with funding for Te Awa River Ride announced in August. The announcement by Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter was part of a $220 million cycleway package included in Government’s $3 billion ‘shovel-ready’ infrastructure projects. The Hamilton to Cambridge section of the Te Awa River Ride is a 20km shared path. It will complete the full Te Awa River Ride – a 70km path that follows the Waikato River from Ngā ruawā hia to Horahora. The exact amount of central government funding allocation for Te Awa is still to be determined. Te Waka CE ending tenure Te Waka chief executive Michael Bassett-Foss has signalled that he does not intend to renew his contract at the organisation’s two-year anniversary in September, says chair Hamish Bell. Bassett-Foss has sat on several boards during his time at Te Waka, including the Water Safety NZ board and the NZ Search & Rescue Council, and is seeking to build on a more blended approach to his work, with opportunities emerging for expanded contracting and portfolio of board positions, Bell said. He said Bassett-Foss would continue to contract to Te Waka to support the organisation in specific areas within its new plan. LIC wins employer award Agri-tech and herd improvement cooperative LIC has been named as a 2020 Employer of Choice through a survey conducted by HRD (Human Resources Director) New Zealand. The cooperative has become the only agriculture entity to win an Employer of Choice Award from HRD which focuses on analysis of the HR profession across New Zealand, Australia, Canada, America and Asia. Chief executive Gigi Crawford and general manager Sen Kong link from Zealong Tea Estate via video with their Japanese partners. Japanese market next step for Zealong Zealong Tea has a foothold in a lucrative new market after signing an agreement with a major Japanese partner. At a ceremony conducted via video-link, Zealong signed with JR West Food Service Net to open a store in Osaka, allowing it to tap into a huge commuter market. All smiles post-signing. Artist’s impression of the new tea store. The deal will see Zealong combine with Japanese cheesecake shop operator Delicius to operate a tea and cake concept store in Osaka city rail station, one of the world’s busiest. Food Service Net (FSN) is a subsidiary of major rail operator JR West, and was established 20 years ago to operate cafes and restaurants for the travelling public. Three years ago, Delicious became a member of JR West group. At the signing ceremony, Zealong chief executive Gigi Crawford said taking their tea to Japan, which is New Zealand’s fourth-largest trading partner, had been a long-term dream. She described meeting Delicius founder Sueharu Nagaoka two years ago during a family trip to Japan as a “eureka” moment. “I always remember that moment when he first tried our tea, and we just clicked,” she said. “Everything about him is genuine and you can really feel his passion whatever he does.” Speaking via videolink from Japan, Nagaoka said in translated words that he remembered the impressive moment of tasting “pure” Zealong tea for the first time, at that meeting in one of his four Osaka stores. He later visited Zealong Tea Estate with FSN executives, with Zealong following up with a site visit in Osaka. “The station is impressive and huge - and we actually got lost a few times,” Crawford said. I always remember that moment when he first tried our tea, and we just clicked,” she said. “Everything about him is genuine and you can really feel his passion whatever he does. “We knew that this would be a great opportunity. But when you are there physically, you really feel that - how bright and how potential this future could be together.” JR West Food Service Net chief executive Takeshi Kitani, joining the agreement signing ceremony in Japan, said via videolink, also with a translation provided, that last year they started looking into a new concept for a Delicius cafe, and met with Zealong. “Zealong is a perfect match for Delicius as they are both committed to producing products with ‘real taste’ by using real and pure ingredients,” he said. “I strongly believe that we can create a wonderful cafe by harmonising the strengths of Zealong, Delicious and FSN.” Describing the signing as a first step, he said they hoped to see the store opened within two years. Crawford thanked FSN for their trust in carrying on with the project during the Covid- 19 pandemic. ”Today is an amazing day for us and for New Zealand,” she said. “With the support of JR West FSN, the collaboration of Delicius and Zealong, I strongly believe that we can create something truly special. “It will represent the best of Japan together with the best of New Zealand. It’s what we hope will be the first of many projects.” - By Richard Walker
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS August/September 2020 New Zealand’s border is currently closed - well not exactly! 5 Stephen Town at the powhiri for his new role Institute chief to drive change in vocational training The man charged with leading an ambitious amalgamation of the vocational training sector takes up the role at a challenging time with a student influx likely as Covid-19 bites. Chief executive Stephen Town will join a small team at Wintec House, as the newly formed NZ Institute of Skills and Technology sets out on a path of bringing the country’s polytechnics into one organisation while also folding in the industry training organisations. It represents a radical shift from a competitive to a collaborative model, and Town says it will also create one of the larger tertiary entities in the world. The choice of Hamilton for NZIST’s head office marks a symbolic victory for the region, and a sign of the city’s growing appeal, rather than a major economic boost, as the office at Wintec House will have small numbers. “The aim is that our head office is very slim and doesn’t have a lot of people in it because what we’ve got to try and do is make use of the resources that are throughout the country, right through our network of polytechs and institutes of technology,” Town says. The executive team has a formidable job ahead of it reforming the vocational education system. “That’s something that is very relevant in New Zealand right now - Covid has made that even more so, because the prediction is there will be a big increase in demand for retraining and short courses and people looking at maybe switching careers over the next year or so,” Town says. “So that means we’re going to be busier, and we’ve got to be ready to meet those needs.” A letter of expectation from the Minister of Education outlines short-term priorities, including working up an implementation plan for learners to come across into NZIST from the industry training organisations (ITOs). The institute will also be contributing to the design of a unified funding system for tertiary education in the vocational education and industry training space, and it must co-design an operating model for the new entity to be implemented by the end of 2022. “And we have to get the network ready to continue with work-based learning, online learning, face to face learning and a blend of those things,” Town says. “Again, Covid has given us a big kickstart to changing the way learning takes place, when you’re in lockdown, and you’ve got to move to an online environment. And all of the polytechnics will be engaging in that over the next couple of years.” The new operating model will see polytechs and institutes of technology, currently limited liability subsidiaries of NZIST, cease to exist by the end of 2022, at which time they will be replaced by a single network of integrated provision across New Zealand. The new entity in 2023 will, by one estimate Town has heard, become the world’s 36th largest tertiary institution. “And we go from there,” he says. “The whole idea is to make our system more learner centered. Rather than convenient for the institution, make it more convenient for learners, with a bigger variety of delivery methods.” Town is well placed to manage the change, as a former chief executive of Wanganui Polytechnic and, most recently, a six and a half year stint as chief executive of Auckland City. His polytechnic stint coincided with the sector’s last major upheaval. He saw the transformation from community colleges to polytechnics, the introduction of bulk funding around 1990 and the introduction of the student-based funding system in the early 90s. “So competition was introduced when I was in the sector. That competition has largely continued for 25 years.” While that stint gave him familiarity with the vocational training sector, his most recent Auckland position is arguably more important. “I think one of the reasons I was chosen for the role is my experience in bringing the Auckland supercity together,” he says. “That is bringing different entities together into an integrated single organization. The CCOs in Auckland are not dissimilar to the subsidiary polytechs that we’ve got now in the IST entity.” Five of seven members of the executive team will live in Hamilton, and that includes Town who will shift from Auckland after Christmas. Top executives have been recruited over the past weeks, and will begin arriving over the next month or two as they finish in their former roles. At least two have strong Waikato connections: Merran Davis was formerly dean at Wintec and is currently interim chief executive at Unitec, and Vaughan Payne arrives from a position as chief executive at Waikato Regional Council. Level 2 586 Victoria Street Hamilton 3204 In New Zealand, there isn't a day that goes by without us thinking about our ability to move around our city, region, and the country. Dreams of international travel for a holiday or to see clients and suppliers are just that, dreams because for the time being the New Zealand border is effectively closed. So, at a time like this, why is our company Pathways to New Zealand, an immigration advisory firm, so busy? One of the reasons is because we are flat out getting people across the border and into New Zealand. Now, before that last statement raises the eyebrows too much, it is vital to make the point that the people we are helping across the border are those with particular family circumstances and those with very specialist technical skills or experience. Pathways has expertise and experience in assisting with the visa requirements of overseas doctors and medical specialists. While there have been additional challenges in getting such medical expertise through the border, the shortage of such knowledge, and the demands arising from COVID- 19 throughout New Zealand, have seen the demand for visas and border entry for medical staff remain strong. The border closure also caught many people by surprise, couples, and families, who normally would be living together in New Zealand, have become separated and have been unable to be reunited. Then in June, the Government introduced clear criteria defining “other critical workers”, as 'high-value workers on projects of national or regional significance’. To date, about 30 percent of critical worker requests are being approved, the leading industry sectors represented in these approvals are construction, manufacturing, film/TV, and sport. Cast your mind back to the start of the year, unemployment is at 4 percent, and business was looking to skilled migrants supplementing their existing workforce to deliver business growth and upcoming planned projects. Six months later things have changed. Those in tourism and hospitality are doing it hard, and sectors like education are pivoting to meet the demands of domestic rather than international students. But those skilled workers we wanted in January are still be needed. We have significant national infrastructure projects requiring attention, aged care, health sector reform, agribusiness, housing and construction, manufacturing, and the tech sector to name but a few. All these projects and industries need skilled workers. The question remains, Level 3 50 Manners Street Wellington 6011 who is going to do the work? The threshold is understandably high to bring critical workers across the border. However, if you have significant and time-critical business plans that are being frustratingly thwarted by a lack of skills and technical expertise, then you may still be able to get these skills across the border. More than ever, your businesses and New Zealand needs these people here working for our benefit, and it is our job here at Pathways to work with the business community to help that happen. One last point that's worth considering we are also busy servicing unprecedented levels of enquiry for investor immigration requiring an investment of either $10 million or $3 million… but that is another story! 07 834 9222 enquiries@pathwaysnz.com NZIST will be based at Wintec House pathwaysnz.com
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Waikato Business News August/September 2020

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