MITB turns to NZ for advice

The Maritime Industries Training Board will learn from the mistakes made by New Zealand, says Brad Jacklin, executive officer of the cargo handling sector (MITB-CH).
Jacklin spoke to FTW after returning from a visit down under, where he had been the guest of the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Given that New Zealand is committed to supporting the transfer of skills and the achievement of education worldwide, their government provided funding for our visit as part of their South African Aid Program, Jacklin explained.
NZ has already provided considerable funding to the primary education sector among disadvantaged groups locally, and their assistance to the MITB is likely to directly affect education, training and development in the local marine industry.
I came back with lots of fresh ideas and confidence that our skills strategy is right on track, says Jacklin. I'm convinced that the approach taken by South Africa will cut out many of the pitfalls encountered in the New Zealand system. We're able to learn from the mistakes that others have made, and this will be of benefit to the whole industry.
Jacklin used the visit to investigate methodologies adopted by NZ industry in redeveloping their own education and training into a competency-based system. He said this also provided MITB-CH with a network of contacts, especially training providers, which would pave the way for future involvement among their key players, including a range of world-class training providers.
Long-distance learning mechanisms are being considered an option if the MITB-CH is unable to get the right quality of local courses accredited in the near future.
The New Zealand industry is clearly further down the track than South Africa, says Jacklin. Over 10 000 unit standards have been registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). NZ's training is based on unit standards, and is offered by technikons, private training providers and schools.
All education and training programmes must meet the industry's requirements in terms of whether training is on or off-the-job. Their assessment and moderation procedures also seem to be well in place. Unit standards and qualifications are regularly reviewed and updated by the Industry, in consultation with the NZ Qualifications Authority.
Jacklin used the opportunity to attend the South Pacific Ports Conference, held in Cairns in Australia, meeting key players from a number of ports in the region.
By Terry Hutson