Workforce shortages drive continued growth for ITO

6 June 2019

Careerforce, the Industry Training Organisation (ITO) for the broader health & wellbeing, cleaning and urban pest management sectors has released its 2018 annual report at its recent AGM.

CEO Jane Wenman commented that “2018 was another very successful year for Careerforce with standard training measure (STM) growth of 11%, following on from 24% growth over 2017”.

“Many of the sectors for which Careerforce provides support are continuing to face significant workforce shortages, and this is undoubtedly contributing to our growth, as employers seek to upskill their workforces through on-the-job training.”

Other key highlights from the annual report included:
• Growth in worksites supported up 23% to 1,782, and up 80% from 2014
• Learners grew to 19,125, up 5% on 2017, and up 37% on 2014.
• Total current apprenticeships up 85% to 2,062
• Revenue growth of 14% to $22.9m for 2018

At its AGM, Fiona Pimm was elected as Careerforce’s new Board Chair, replacing Richard Westlake who was standing down after 9 years. Pimm was elected to the Board in 2012, and has been Deputy Chair since 2016. She has extensive experience in health management and governance.

Pimm acknowledged Westlake’s superb stewardship across his tenure, “Richard has been an outstanding Chair, guiding Careerforce through a period of significant growth, and providing exceptional governance. We thank Richard for his contribution, and I hope to continue his legacy of growth in my tenure as Chair.”

Despite Careerforce’s sustained strong performance in recent years, a cloud continues to hang over all ITO’s, pending the outcomes from the Review of Vocational Education (RoVE), which could see the transition of over 140,000 ITO trainees to a newly proposed NZ Institute of Skills & Technology. An announcement is expected later in June.

Wenman commented that “pending the outcomes from RoVE, we hope to be able to continue to work very closely with employers across our sectors to support their workforce development needs. These employers have many choices in how they upskill their staff, and it is evident that on-the-job training is working very effectively for them. Their staff are learning relevant and practical skills whilst working, and achieving nationally recognised qualifications at the same time, supporting enhanced career prospects and life outcomes”.

Careerforce will celebrate its 25th anniversary as an ITO later this year.

The Careerforce 2018 Annual Report can be found here.

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