Competenz 2018
Annual Report
Celebrating our people, our success
About Competenz
Competenz is a multi-sector industry training organisation (ITO). Our industries include engineering, manufacturing, forestry, food and beverage, printing, transport and textiles. Our purpose is to help Kiwi industry grow skills, careers and businesses. We do this by delivering effective on-the-job training and designing workforce development solutions. Owned by our industries, we are responsible for setting the standards for qualifications in 36 sectors and we support learners, employers and industry to achieve their goals. We’re proud to support more than 20,000 learners and 3,500 businesses nationwide.
Chairman's report
Competenz, as one of New Zealand’s leading industry training organisations (ITOs), continued to provide highquality training outcomes in 2018, assisting learners and employers in their endeavours to improve work-based skills, productivity and future sustainability of the country’s engineering and manufacturing sectors.
During the year, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) rated Competenz as a Category 1 organisation, highly confident in educational performance and selfassessment capability. This is the highest rating awarded by NZQA and reflects very well on the commitment to excellence across all levels of the organisation.
Board members
Mike Simm
Chairman
Business owner and professional director. Has a special interest in youth development and transitions from school to work.
John Blakey
Chairman of the ATNZ Trust and former CEO of Competenz with more than 20 years’ experience in vocational education and training.
Tupara Morrison
Business studies graduate, Chartered Accountant and member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors with extensive governance experience in tertiary education and iwi development.
Judy Newcombe
Extensive experience in leading and managing change in a number of senior management roles in some of New Zealand’s largest corporates. Currently working in the not-for-profit sector as a professional director.
Bryn Thompson
Business owner, exporter and director with significant engineering and manufacturing experience. Qualified fitter/welder.
Bill Newson
National Secretary of E Tū he has a trades background and many years of involvement in trades training. Has played a major role in developing the engineering apprenticeship training trusts.
George Adams
An experienced company director with extensive expertise in the food and beverage sector.
CEO's report
2018 saw Competenz support more than 17,000 learners with 21,000 enrolments. We continue to see growth within our apprenticeship numbers with a 24% increase in new enrolments. Our partnerships with 3,500 employers, who invest in training and development of their workforce and ensure that their businesses are fit for the future, are highly valued by Competenz.
There was further investment in our digital capability including the rollout of online training agreements, moving our infrastructure to the cloud and establishing a new Business Intelligence (BI) tool to support the business.
Senior leadership team
Fiona Kingsford
Chief Executive
Competenz CEO since January 2016. Has held portfolios that cover operations, strategy, innovation, business transformation and Māori and Pasifika development.
Sean Kirk
Chief Financial Officer
Finance, ICT, legal, procurement, office management, business insights, compliance and risk.
Amanda Wheeler
General Manager
Industry Training
Apprentice and learner service delivery, workforce development, operations and literacy and numeracy support.
Tim Wilson
General Manager
Learning Design and Innovation
Product, qualification development, resource development, quality assurance and commercial development.
Yvonne Lim
General Manager
Sales and Marketing
Customer and learner support, marketing and communications, brand, customer satisfaction, digital experience, careers promotion, research, Māori and Pasifika participation, sector engagement, strategic stakeholder engagement and lobbying.
Kirsten Jones
General Manager
People and Culture
Human resources, recruitment and retention, health and safety, organisational development and training, change management.
Susanne Martin
General manager
ATNZ
ATNZ service delivery, business development, product development and learner support.
Our performance
5,872
Qualification completions
9,786
Enrolments
16,955
Learners
Focus
There were lots of causes for celebration throughout the year at Competenz; our first Category 1 rating from NZQA, our most complex review of our engineering qualifications, and our first fully inhouse tactical marketing campaign. Take a look at these milestones and more...
Iwi partnerships
New products
The Competenz team is focused on continuous innovation to keep up with rapidly-changing technology and automation, help address critical skills’ shortages in industry, and best meet the needs of our learners, businesses and industries.
Our Canvas online learning management system has seen steady growth since it was introduced in May 2017. In December 2018, the total number of learners using Canvas was 3,915, up from 2,223 in 2017.
New Zealand is facing a critical skills’ shortage and a unique approach is needed to respond to this challenge. In the industries Competenz supports, more than 89,000 workers are needed by 2024 to fill new roles and replace workers who retire or leave.
One of our innovations to address this shortage was to introduce a successful pilot for a recruitment job-matching scheme, providing job-matching services to employers and jobseekers. This pilot will become a regular programme in 2019.
Businesses we work with
Kuru contracting
“We are proud of our very high staff retention rate, which we put this down to the investment owners Ricky and Leanne Kuru have made in their people through training."
Royal New Zealand Navy
“Competenz is a strategic partner who has worked with the Navy to understand what we are trying to achieve in the qualification space, what our challenges are they continue to provide a valued service."
Barkers
“Qualifications are now embedded in our culture - anyone in production can work towards gaining one or more. I see Barker’s and Competenz continuing to work closely into the future...”
Learner stories
David Lewis
Engineering
Stuart Tolhurst Award winner
Louisa Jessop
Signmaking
New Zealand Sign and Display Association Apprentice of the Year
Georgia Paulson
Forestry
Eastland Forestry Awards Apprentice of the Year
Kayla Spyve
Plastics
National Certificate in Plastics Processing Technology
Rylee Funk
Cellar operations
New Zealand Certificate in Cellar Operations Level 3
Dilanka Attale
Print Apprentice of the Year