Stakeholder News March 2022

7 Mar 2022

  Stakeholder News | March 2022 Kia ora koutou,   It has been wonderful to welcome our 2022 ākonga to campus – whether they are returning students or just getting started on their tertiary training pathways. Most of our programmes are now up and running, with more opportunities for enrolment later in the year. Although Covid-19 restrictions meant we couldn’t hold our usual orientation and mihi whakatau activities, we are still excited for another year to get underway. On that note, a big thank you to everyone who has adapted with us to the new and changing Covid guidelines and the rules we are following to keep everyone on campus healthy and safe. Like most of you, this has been a big focus for our management and staff this year as we also get on with the business of providing quality, sustainable tertiary vocational training options for the West Coast. We’ll have more news throughout the year about Te Pūkenga progress in introducing the new national training model – until then take care and stay safe. Ngā mihi Alex *Share your ideas for Techweek 2022* We’re once again bringing Techweek to the West Coast and we want to get the local community involved.   Tai Poutini Polytechnic is pleased to be coordinating this year’s...

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Stakeholder News February 2022

2 Feb 2022

  Stakeholder News | February 2022 Kia ora koutou,   A new year has started with yet more Covid-19 changes and requirements, which I’m sure you’re taking time to get used to just as we are here at Tai Poutini Polytechnic. Tertiary education providers are required to follow some specific rules at the Red traffic light setting, which have an impact on our community partners – we’ve set those out in this update. At the beginning of the year, we also adopted our own Covid-19 policy which was prepared in consultation with staff and sets out that any visitors to campus must show proof of vaccination or exemption. This policy is in line with tertiary providers around the country and aims to keep all our people safe. There is a lot going on right now and, in the midst of all these changes, we continue to prepare for another big year of education. I look forward to working with many of you throughout the year.   Ngā mihi Alex   *Tai Poutini Polytechnic at Red* Under the Red setting of the Government’s Covid-19 Protection Framework – the “traffic light system” – the following are requirements for tertiary education providers: At Red, staff must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (unless exempt) to be onsite...

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Agriculture 2022 training flexible to student needs

16 Dec 2021

Agriculture 2022 training flexible to student needs    16 December 2021 Tai Poutini Polytechnic is next year extending a new collaboration with the Primary ITO that makes it easier and more flexible for agriculture students to learn their trade and get working. The partnership was launched at the start of 2021 as a collaboration under the new Te Pūkenga national vocational education model. The key difference for West Coast learners is that they would be able to seamlessly move between learning at the polytechnic, to on the job, or back to the polytechnic without disrupting their studies.   Tai Poutini Polytechnic Manager Teaching and Learning Peter O’Sullivan says the programme has been designed to enable and encourage students to transition into full time employment when they are ready, and to complete their studies as farm‐based learners “This is a great example of how we can pursue new ideas and partnerships under our new national education model. We want to be innovative and respond to industry, and we’ll continue to adapt and change along the way as we learn from new approaches,” he says. The Polytechnic’s Agriculture programme covers the basics of farm and animal management, including operating farm machinery, key maintenance jobs like fencing, and a strong focus on health and safety on the farm. “As with all...

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Stakeholder News December 2021

7 Dec 2021

Stakeholder News | December 2021  We’ve reached the end of another year and I’m sure you, like all of us here at Tai Poutini Polytechnic, are looking forward to taking break over the summer holidays. It’s been another year of change as we respond to new pandemic challenges and get used to new ways of working. The reform of the tertiary vocational training sector across New Zealand has obviously been a key focus for us in 2021; there are still a lot of unanswered questions but we are working alongside Te Pūkenga to advocate for the West Coast and seek benefits for our learners and employers. Thank you to everyone who has contributed in different ways to this work in recent months. And thank you to all of our community partners for working with us through another great year of events, activities and initiatives that make the West Coast a great place to be.   Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete me te Tau Hou, Alex Cabrera Chief Executive   One-off designs attract attention at annual student exhibition Darryn Rae with one of his display cases at the Left Bank Art Gallery for the 2021 Jade Exhibition West Coasters enjoyed catching a glimpse of the region’s emerging art talent at this year’s...

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Stakeholder News November 2021

4 Nov 2021

header news   Stakeholder News | November 2021 It has been an interesting few weeks for tertiary education in New Zealand, with the lead-up to and release of Te Pūkenga’s proposed operating model for vocational training. We’re working through the detail here and what it means for the West Coast so we can provide feedback. At this point, the model goes as far as setting out what Te Pūkenga does, who for, how and where. Details about organisational structure and exactly where we all fit in will come after this engagement process. We’re always interested to hear your thoughts on what’s important for our region and we welcome you’re feedback – you’ll see more detail in the newsletter. Meanwhile, work and study continues as we push toward Christmas; it was great to see our team supporting the recent Covid-19 Super Saturday events and a good result for the West Coast. The announcement of two cases of Covid-19 in Christchurch last week was a very timely reminder for everyone to get vaccinated and stick to our Alert Level 2 rules. Stay safe everyone. Alex Cabrera Chief Executive Feedback sought on model for learning sharevoice Te Pūkenga is reimagining the way tertiary vocational training is delivered across New Zealand. As a subsidiary of...

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