ATTTO Commends Tia Tourism Election Manifesto

MEDIA RELEASE

For release 10.30am Wednesday 10 September, 2008

ATTTO Commends Tia Tourism Election Manifesto

ATTTO has welcomed the release of the TIA Tourism Election Manifesto, which outlines the top priorities for New Zealand tourism for the next election term and the actions the industry seeks from government.

“TIA has recommended practical and necessary priorities that reflect the needs of the tourism industry now and into the future. We particularly support the focus on investing in training and work skills initiatives,” says Elizabeth Valentine, Chief Executive of ATTTO.

“The critical need to address skills shortages and learning and development requirements is consistently highlighted in high-level strategic documents such as the Tourism and Hospitality Workforce Strategy 2006 and the Tourism Strategy 2015. Prioritisation of these needs and investment from government is essential to ensure we can continue to deliver a high quality visitor experience.”

ATTTO is an Industry Training Organisation, and plays a strategic role in skills development and attraction and retention of people within the aviation, tourism, travel and museums industries in New Zealand.

A current initiative to improve awareness of career options in tourism is the national Career Maps and Pathways Project. Co-led by ATTTO, the project will highlight a comprehensive map of current education and training provision, job roles, and career paths that interrelate across the wider tourism and hospitality sectors. The aim is to make it easier for current and prospective employees to decipher training options and understand that real and diverse career options exist in the tourism, hospitality, aviation, travel and museums industries.

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Another key initiative of ATTTO is the Workforce Development Strategy, which is aimed at ensuring New Zealand’s tourism businesses have the skilled people they need to do business. The strategy will identify a shared view of known and predicted skill needs in the industry, and use this information to determine appropriate workforce learning and development priorities for the next 3 – 5 years. In close alignment with the 2008 New Zealand Skills Strategy, sector-specific skills strategies will also be developed for aviation, travel and museums.

“By taking a national, strategic perspective of tourism workforce needs now and in the future, and aligning these with clear career paths, education and training solutions can be focused on lifting the bar in a collaborative and cohesive way. We look forward to working with the incoming government on building industry capability that will result in real and positive benefits for New Zealand,” concludes Elizabeth.

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