Industry Forum

The Industry Forum offers a platform for those with a stake in workplace training to come together to share views, lessons learnt and strategies for improving training outcomes in the electricity supply industry.

When and where

Thursday, 7 October
Convention Suites, Mystery Creek Events Centre





This one-day forum
features an EEA safety
workshop with Pat Kirk.

ESITO staff will also be on hand throughout the day to chat about qualification
changes, show you the
new assessment guides
and talk through any
training concerns you
may have.

Programme

 8.30am Registration and coffee 
 9.00am Welcome and opening remarks
 9.10am The value of training: How managers prove it and report on it
Jeremy Baker, Executive Director, Industry Training Federation

As the executive director of the Industry Training Federation, which represents New Zealand's 39 industry training organisations, Jeremy Baker is well aware that managers need to be able to show how the training they invest in improves their organisation's business results.  Often this means providing Return on Investment (ROI) information but this metrics approach can be difficult.  Using research from a range of different industries, Jeremy will provide insights into some of the myths surrounding measuring the value of training to the business.  He will also identify some of the best practices and tools being used.
 10.00am Morning tea
 10.20am Evolution at Northpower through productivity improvement
Stuart Payne, Business Process Improvement Manager, Northpower
Kelly Taite, Operations Manager, Northpower

Northpower has a corporate goal to balance and continually improve safety, quality and productivity.  When a key contract was retained in 2009 that required improvements in productivity to ensure it remained profitable, Northpower ran a 'lean' workshop to identify waste within a key business process.  They then set about implementing the obervations and subsequent improvements.  When ESITO proposed a productivity improvement pilot programme for the industry, Northpower saw an excellent opportunity to introduce 'lean' principles across its entire business.  This presentation will cover:
  • what's been achieved in the early days of the programme
  • why 'lean' principles are important to Northpower
  • how Northpower intends to embed the initiative into its business and the type of training that will be needed.
 10.50am Way2Work: An in-house approach to literacy training
Chris Meade, General Manager Human Resources, Downer EDI Works

Way2Work is the largest single workplace literacy programme in New Zealand.  And its success resulted in Downer EDI Works winning the Skills Highway Award at the 2009 EEO Trust Work & Life Awards.  Along with sharing what the programme has meant for the employees who have participated in it, and the benefits Downer EDI Works has gained from its investment in this type of training, Chris Meade will talk about:
  • why they developed an in-house programme and the cost of doing this
  • how Way2Work and the complementary Teamworks programme were implemented
  • problems encountered during the roll-out of these two programmes and how they were overcome.
 11.20am Opportunities in delivering qualifications online
Ange Brooking, Retail Sector Project Manager, ESITO

This year ESITO rolled out its first e-Guide which enables people in the retail sector to access training and assessment resources online.  In this presentation you will find out how this delivery option works, including the technical requirements needed.  Drawing on one company's recent experience of this delivery option, Ange Brooking will also talk about how online learning complements trainees' work tasks and the flexibility it gives different types of trainees.
 11.50am How WEL Networks is dealing with drugs and alcohol in the workplace
Dr Julian Elder, Chief Executive Officer, WEL Networks

Speaking about WEL Networks' drug and alcohol policy, Dr Elder will talk about the motivations behind the development of this policy and the implementation process that was put in place around it.  Now three years on from initial implementation, he will reflect on how staff reacted to the policy and what the outcomes have been.
 12.20pm Lunch
 1.00pm EEA workshop
Delivering safety in your workplace
Pat Kirk, Director, Kirk & Associates Ltd

This interactive workshop is your chance to get some practical advice on how to better deliver safety in your workplace from an expert who has a solid track record in implementing initiatives, strategies and processes that significantly reduce staff injury rates.

Pat Kirk has a background in practical safety leadership in the forestry industry and is currently working on a variety of health and safety projects in the agricultural, aquaculture, engineering, construction, aviation and wood processing industries.  Topics Pat will cover in this workshop include:
  • the importance and practice of good governance
  • principles and good practice for successful safety leadership
  • having the basics in place
  • what really works - example, motivation or reward
  • safety reporting and performance indicators
  • the features of a good and consistent safety culture at work, including across contractor boundaries
  • how to set realistic KPIs that trickle down and have meaningful consequences.
 4.00pm Wrap up

How to register

To register for the 2010 forum, download the registration form, fill it in and send it to ESITO by 30 September 2010.