Help shape the future of New Zealand marina training

by New Zealand Marina Operators Association 28 Jul 00:21 PDT

We're reaching out on behalf of MAST Academy because we need your help to improve training for people working in marinas and boatyards across New Zealand.

Background

Right now, we have a qualification called the "New Zealand Certificate in Marina Facilities (Level 4)" that covers both marina operations and boatyard operations. However, we've heard from industry that it could be better structured to meet the real training and skill needs of workers and employers.

MAST is working with NZMOA, & Hanga Aro Rau (the Workforce Development Council - WDC) to bring forward this review to enable more fit for purpose and future proofed qualification/s to support increased training, attraction and retention in your businesses.

We're doing a complete review to make sure the training actually prepares people for the jobs they'll be doing.

How will it work?

We'll approach this review in four steps:

Step 1: What should graduates be able to do? We'll look at the big picture - what skills and knowledge should someone have when they finish this qualification? Should marina and boatyard training be separate qualifications? What do employers actually need their workers to know? This is at a high level and produces the Graduate Profile Outcomes in a qualification.

Step 2: What specific skills need to be taught? Once we know what the end goal looks like, we'll break it down into specific skills and knowledge areas. We'll review what's currently taught (the unit standards), create new unit standards where needed, and make sure we're not missing anything important.

Step 3: How should the training be delivered? This is where we figure out the best way to organise the learning - what order should things be taught in? Should some parts be online, others hands-on? We can also look at creating short, focused micro credentials for specific skills.

Once the skills and knowledge are agreed this is where MOA expertise comes in to develop the training material/best practice guidelines/study guides, SOP's etc in detail. We can also determine here or in step 4 the learning and or career pathways leading to and from each qualification.

Step 4: Make it happen Once everything is approved, we'll create with NZMOA the actual training materials, assessments, and study guides to make the new system work. This is the how part- how it is trained - what specific detailed knowledge, SOP's, best practice etc underpins the high level outcomes of the unit standards and qualification outcomes.

We need your voice!

To make this work, we need people who actually work in the industry to help guide these decisions. We're looking for:

• 8-10 people from marina operations
• 8-10 people from boatyard/marina operations

We want a mix of experiences - whether you're working day-to-day in the marinas or boatyard, managing operations, in a leadership role, on MOA executive etc or have recently completed marina or boatyard operations qualifications. Your real-world experience is exactly what we need to make this qualification and ultimately the training relevant and practical.

It is important that people can commit their time to the review process which although complex will go faster if we have a range of people in the room from a range of experience.

What's the commitment?

• Meetings: About once a month (maybe twice a month during busy periods)
• Duration: 6-9 months once we get the green light
• Time: Each meeting is roughly 3 hours per sector
• Format: We can meet in person, online, or a combination - whatever works best for the group

We'll run separate meetings for marina and boatyard sectors to make sure each area gets proper attention and only bring the groups together when needed. It is important that people can commit their time to the review process which although complex will go faster if we have a range of people in the room from a range of experience.

This is important for our industry's future!

This is your chance to help shape training that works for our industry. The people doing the jobs know best what skills are really needed, and we want to make sure that knowledge gets built into the qualification. Nominations can be employers, managers, supervisors, apprentices, new graduates etc - we want a cross section of voices.

If you're interested in being part of this review group, or if you know someone who should be involved, please get in touch. We especially welcome participation from Iwi.

Next Steps: If you're interested, please let us know and we'll be in touch with more details about the process and timing. Please reply to this email or contact Lesley on 022 601 9225 or .