A greater focus on the difference between leadership and management training is being proposed as part of the work done by the Ringa Hora Te Manu Arataki | Leadership Project team.
Working groups comprised of representatives from industry and training providers have been looking at qualifications as part of this major transformational project, and the team now wants feedback from industry professionals and providers about the proposals.
The qualifications are intended to be generic and available to be taught not just as business credentials but across all parts of the workforce – including businesses outside the Service sector. They can be taught alongside leadership credentials that focus on specific skills needed for specific industries.
These working groups were set up following extensive engagement as part of Te Manu Arataki, one of the key transformational projects Ringa Hora has conducted this year.
“Throughout the engagement with industry we heard a wish to highlight the people leadership side and its difference to the management process side,” Te Manu Arataki project leader Sandy Chan says. “The desire was to add some extra focus on the more human side of leading, and these proposed qualifications reflect that.
“It is also important the qualifications are more inclusive, accessible, and meet the needs of Māori, Pacific people, Tāngata Whaikaha, and other priority groups.”
Those involved in the process have included people from industries outside the Service sector, such as logistics and infrastructure, and providers such as whānau trusts and other Māori-specific providers.
The proposed changes put forward by the working groups, all available for download via the links below, include:
- The Level 3 New Zealand Certificate in Business (Introduction to Team Leadership) will be modified and renamed the New Zealand Certificate in Leadership (Level 3).
- A new qualification called the New Zealand Certificate in Leadership (Level 4), based off the New Zealand Certificate in Business (First Line Management)
- Reviewing the New Zealand Certificate in Business (First Line Management) as part of the review of the current Business Qualifications and Standards suite;
- Splitting Leadership and Management in the Level 5 Diploma so they will each be their own strand in the Diploma.
- Removing the leadership strand from the Level 6 Diploma to have its own Diploma – the New Zealand Diploma in Advanced Leadership (Level 6).
“As part of our engagement on leadership, we started hearing a lot of talk about leadership needs and a lack of leadership specific credentials on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework,” Sandy says.
“Portability is important – these will be nationally-recognised qualifications that a graduate can take to any employer.”
The national consultation on these qualifications will stretch from October 1 to November 8. More details can be found here.
They will also be highlighted at a series of hui by Ringa Hora partnering with industry and providers at three/four South Island venues at the beginning of November.
Skill standards are also being developed. Although these standards will be aligned to the qualifications, they will be designed to be able to be used in a variety of sectors with leadership needs. It is hoped these will be drafted by December, with the aim to have them available on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework by June 2025.
