Address to the Skills Strategy Consultation meeting

 Speech notes for Associate Social Development and Employment Minister Darren Hughes' address to the Skills Strategy Consultation meeting in Palmerston North

Great to be here today to hear your views on the development of the New Zealand Skills Strategy.

This is the third week of the public consultation on the discussion paper that was released at the end of April.   I very much encourage you to provide your ideas and views on the priorities and actions that are outlined in the paper as we discuss these issues here today.

This is about having a nation-wide dialogue on a key issue for New Zealand – how we provide workers with the right skills for the complexities of the modern workplace.

The development of the Strategy is a collaborative and ongoing project between government, the Council of Trade Unions, Business New Zealand, and the Industry Training Federation. 

As the Prime Minister noted in her Statement to Parliament a few months ago, the development of a Unified Skills Strategy for the existing workforce was one of the government’s priorities this year.   This is because New Zealand’s continuing wealth will depend on all New Zealanders being supported to work to the best of their potential.

We need to find new ways to significantly lift national productivity.  We must focus on supporting everyone to work smarter – not harder. 

The discussion paper outlines some key opportunities and challenges for us in supporting the growth of New Zealand businesses through the skills of our workforce and proposes some possible actions that might be taken over the next couple of years.

As part of the last week’s Budget, there has been a significant announcement for funding of a skills package to support productivity increases in our workplaces.   New funding of $168 million over four years will provide workers with the right skills to reach their potential in the modern workplace. 

This funding will build literacy, language and numeracy capability, a key priority for the New Zealand Skills Strategy.  The government and its partners in the Skills Strategy recognises that high levels of literacy and numeracy among workers are essential for businesses to improve productivity, competitiveness, innovate and meet changing customer and market demands.

High levels of literacy and numeracy play an important role in ensuring better skilled workers, who are more motivated and effective in the workplaces of the future, as well as being able to participate fully in family and community life.

As part of the Skills Strategy Action Plan, government agencies will work together with businesses, unions and the education sector to implement a comprehensive programme to support literacy and numeracy.  A key part of this work is to offer the right opportunities where they are needed, as well as building employers’ and workers’ understanding of the benefits of addressing literacy and numeracy issues.

I would like to conclude by saying the aim of the Skills Strategy is to provide a platform for the kind of co-ordinated action that is needed to address the issues we shall be discussing today.  And to reinforce my earlier point, the exciting thing about this work is that it has been developed through a partnership between our social partners – Business New Zealand, Council of Trade Unions, the Industry Training Federation – and government and a host of key agencies.

Thank you for coming here today, I look forward to hearing your views, and I encourage you to participate with your ideas in the workshop session later this afternoon.