Ringa Hora is seeking wider feedback on the draft Employment Advocacy qualification, put together with the collaboration of industry partners and educational institutions.
If you would like to provide feedback, click here.
Feedback is open from 16 June – 7 July 2025.
Background
In New Zealand, employment advocates are not required to hold any formal qualifications or credentials to represent somebody in an employment dispute, and the industry is currently unregulated.
In October 2024, Ringa Hora was approached by industry representatives to discuss issues surrounding this with Employment Advocates and explore potential solutions for industry.
From October 2024 to February 2025 Ringa Hora engaged with industry representatives, associations and potential providers via online meetings to further explore these issues. See Employment Advocacy Project Summary of Findings for a summary of what was discussed in the webinars.
Engagement findings
Two general directions were proposed in the webinars:
Ringa Hora is not an organisation that has authority to work on a regulatory/legislative approach. However, Ringa Hora can play a role in exploring an education approach through the development of credentials such as qualifications, standards, and/or micro-credentials.
The following next steps are indicative and subject to change. These are:
Ringa Hora will engage fully with stakeholders and our wider consultation group throughout the project.
We welcome feedback or expressions of interest to be involved at any time and will continue to add people who are interested.
If you have any further enquiries, please email [email protected].
