Mahi Ngahere Forestry

Developing the Forestry workforce development plan has highlighted that the industry struggles to attract new people. This may be due to a lack of visibility of role models, the perception of minimal progression opportunities, and limited understanding around what sort of career and learner pathways exist.  

The existing delivery and assessment of Forestry qualifications doesn’t fit learner needs. Trained and skilled workers are essential, however the way in which learners are taught and assessed on the job makes it challenging for employers to support learners, both financially and in terms of time.  The burden is on the learner to complete the 'bookwork', potentially outside of work hours which may impact on themselves and their whānau. Furthermore, pastoral care is an important component of the industry, with employees often spending long days together in crews of people. The Forestry industry has some good examples of Māori pastoral care across employers, and there is an opportunity for employers to share these models with each other.  

This is our plan to address the vocational education and training opportunities that arose from our engagement, research and analysis. It includes real projects that we are committed to delivering, with most of these spanning across some or all Muka Tangata industries. Our Projects have replaced our previous “Roadmap Actions” and present a consolidated view of our mahi. Some of the previous roadmap actions have been completed or closed out following a review of our work programme and engagement with industry on the priority of these actions.