Maharey: Labour-Alliance Govt. Committed To Supporting Training In The Seafood Industry

The Minister responsible for industry training, Steve Maharey, said the Labour-Alliance Government is committed to supporting training in the seafood industry on a visit to Nelson today.

New Zealand's seafood industry is one of our biggest export earners and Nelson plays the leading role in training the skilled workforce needed to staff it.

Nelson is the nation's major fishing port and base for the deep sea fishing fleet as well as providing for in-shore fishing operations. Two local companies, Amaltal and Sealord, have been central to the development of industry qualifications and are major employers of graduates coming out of seafood training courses. Industry training is delivered locally by the Westport Deep Sea Fishing School and the New Zealand School of Fisheries, which is part of the Nelson-Marlborough Institute of Technology. Skill New Zealand supports both training providers.

Mr Maharey said he wanted to visit the local industry to see for himself what the Seafood Industry Training Organisation had described as the pre-eminent trainers in the industry.

"I want to acknowledge the leading role played by Nelson companies in developing and delivering training within the seafood industry.

"It is vital that quality, industry-relevant training is provided in seafood if we are take full advantage of the natural resources on our doorstep to deliver even greater returns and more jobs.

"Through Skill New Zealand, nationally the Government plans to contract over 2,200 training places in the seafood industry worth $1.5m this year. Training places are also sponsored locally by the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission reflecting the high number of Maori workers in the industry.

"In last week's Budget we set aside a further $56m over four years to purchase additional industry training places. Seafood industry training can also expect to receive a share of these additional funds," Steve Maharey said.

Ends

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>