Food and Fibre Centre of Vocational Excellence

🚀 Please help us shape the future of the food and fibre sector! 🚀 We are currently undertaking our annual evaluation survey which closes on 4 April. If you haven't already done so, we would greatly appreciate your participation. Plus, you can enter the draw to win a hamper. Take the survey here: https://lnkd.in/get4Wi4U Your response will help us monitor whether the work that we are doing is supporting meaningful change in the vocational education system. This survey should only take 5-10 minutes to complete. #positivedisruption #growth #innovation #foodandfibre #evaluationsurvey

📢 New Podcast: How do we train and retain people in farming? Take a listen to this latest Farmers Weekly NZ podcast, where Bryan Gibson chats with William Beetham, chair of Food and Fibre Centre of Vocational Excellence, about the organisation’s recent initiatives and his commitment to ensuring its continuation beyond the end of government funding this year. With New Zealand aiming to double the value of food exports in the coming decades, attracting and training skilled talent will be crucial. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/g5MsquSE #positivedisruption #growth #innovation #foodandfibre

RSE Skills Recognition Project: Recognising Pacific Workers' Contributions We're excited to share a new groundbreaking initiative: the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Skills Recognition Project. This collaborative effort between Muka Tangata Workforce Development Council and Food and Fibre Centre of Vocational Excellence aims to create a "Circular Skills Recognition Journey" for Pacific workers in New Zealand's food and fibre sectors. Despite developing valuable skills during their time in New Zealand, RSE workers currently don’t get assessed or credentialised for these capabilities. Our project will change this by: · Creating a skills recognition framework to capture skills and capabilities developed through the RSE scheme. · Mapping skills to qualifications in both NZ and Pacific Qualification Frameworks. · Establishing processes for concurrent credential recognition across countries. The benefits will be significant: · Enhanced productivity for employers. · Clear career advancement pathways for workers. · Increased capacity in Pacific nations. · Stronger regional relationships. Running from March to September 2025, we'll work with Pacific qualification authorities (initially Vanuatu, Samoa, and Tuvalu), RSE employers, workers, and education providers to build this framework. We are keen to hear from all those involved with supporting the RSE scheme and to capture all voices to ensure the framework captures the needs and aspirations of RSE employers and workers alike. Your thoughts and insights are warmly welcomed: contact Josh Williams at Skills Group (josh.williams@scgnz.org) to connect with the work and provide your input. #workforcedevelopment #pacificskills #RSEscheme #skillsrecognition #foodandfibre #positivedisruption #growth #innovation

📢 March eNewsletter Out Now! The latest Food and Fibre Centre of Vocational Excellence eNewsletter should have landed in your inbox earlier today, Thursday 27 March. If not, you can view it on our website here: https://lnkd.in/gTK9prED If you want news and the important project updates delivered straight to your inbox in the future, "Sign Up" at the bottom of the home page on our website: https://lnkd.in/gd6qCE6a #positivedisruption #growth #innovation #foodandfibre

Earlier this week, RNZ interviewed Kerry Allen, Curriculum Director of the Agribusiness in Schools programme, to discuss its impact after 10 years. A recent report highlighted the programme's significant influence on students' pathways to tertiary education or employment in the food and fibre sector. You can listen to the report here, from 1 minute 30 seconds. https://lnkd.in/gWw6inNG

Check out this story in Farmers Weekly NZ by Samantha Tennent about our Research and Insights Forum that was held this week 👏 👏 https://lnkd.in/gJ8sQb-A

It was a pleasure to welcome the Honourable Andrew Hoggard to open our Research and Insights Forum early this week, who shared his vision for advancing a thriving skilled food and fibre workforce, emphasising the importance of a strong talent pool of people with the technical and leadership skills essential to meet New Zealand government’s goal of doubling value of exports in the next decade.

As our Research and Insights Forum draws to a close, we heard from Food and Fibre CoVE’s Chair William Beetham on an update of our Future Directions Initiative in working with our stakeholders and PwC New Zealand on what comes next for Food and Fibre CoVE as our current funding comes to an end at the end of 2025. Much work has been done, and we thank all of those who have been involved to make this happen, with the impact so far. With so much more required to advance our food and fibre VET system, we would love you to have your say of what our focus should be beyond 2025. Click here: https://lnkd.in/gvr-zAbg #ffcoveforum2025 #ffcovefuturedirections #growth #positivedisruption #vocationalexcellence #itsawrap

Session #4 – our panel line-up on positive disruption as we look to shape the future of food and fibre VET. We heard from Grace Moscrip Josh Williams Lisa Rogers, our Board member Cheyenne Wilson and our Chair, William Beetham who reflected on the learnings of the last two days in shaping a VET sector for the ever-evolving future-focussed food and fibre sectors of New Zealand. Acknowledgement was given to the valuable contribution Food and Fibre CoVE’s research and insights are making, to building a strong evidence base in raising the bar for food and fibre vocational excellence. But it’s just the beginning, and unless we strongly collaborate on implementing the learnings, with a common language, the evolvement of our system will be stalled. * Delegates also workshopped key messages to send to government by way of writing postcards – their mailbox will be overflowing! #positivedisruption #ffcoveforum2025 #postcardstogovernment #DearMinister #vocationalexcellence #youvegotmail

Day 2, Session #3 – Integrating Technology – To Infinity and Beyond at the 2025 Food and Fibre CoVE Research and Insights Forum saw some exciting learning developments when exploring the potential that emerging technologies such as gamification, extended reality and artificial intelligence has for New Zealand’s food and fibre sector. Dan Browne and Hamish Webber of Indelible - Creative Studio with our own Dr Lilla du Toit showcased how emerging technology can advance our sector’s learning and training capability, with AI researcher Dr Jace Hargis from Orlando providing a global lens on current insights and possibilities. All those in the room got to witness first-hand the remarkable examples of virtual reality (VR) and gamification in food and fibre contexts, particularly when it comes to being around animals and equipment. Delegates were able to give the new tools a go too, providing them an immersive experience with keeping safe when moving stock. 3 pilots to test the technology are underway with Beef + Lamb New Zealand, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and DairyNZ – Watch this space. To review the report that explored the possibilities of emerging technologies for New Zealand food and fibre sector by Skills Group, click here: https://lnkd.in/gKKJR8ZW * The session also heard from the Scarlatti team Phoebe Gill and Julie Moularde about two key projects, one that explores the role of AI in enhancing assessment practices that are accessible and meaningful for learners and providers while meeting moderation requirements. New Zealand examples were provided and lessons learnt when applying these tools. * Delegates were also introduced to Food and Fibre CoVE’s interactive Online Excellence Framework that the ‘heroes’ from Scarlatti and Skills Group have collaborated on to bring the Rubrics and its ‘superpowers’ to life. Key ‘superpowers’ of the new tool include: framing questions to target the user; self-service approach; breaking down complex concepts into clear ideas; aligning with NZQA’s quality assessment framework; and educating users and recommending practical actions. #ffcoveforum2025 #artificialintelligence #GenAI #EnquiryBasedLearning #rubrics #ExcellenceFramework  #foodandfibre #positivedisruption #innovation #vocationalexcellence #growth