Nov 22, 2017 - The number of online job advertisements rose slightly with an increase of 0.1 per cent in October 2017 and 8.2 per cent over the year, according to the latest Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Jobs Online report. “Job vacancies increased in five out of eight of the industry groups, with the largest contributor being the medical and healthcare industry, with an increase of 1.1 per cent. Other significant increases were a 2.2 per cent increase for machinery drivers and a 1.6 per cent rise for labourers,” says Stuart King, MBIE’s acting Labour Market Trends manager.
“In October, low-skilled occupations grew the fastest with a 1.0 per cent increase, with semi-skilled and highly-skilled occupations also increasing 0.5 per cent.”
Over the month, the strongest regional growth was in Otago/Southland with a 1.5 per cent increase, followed by Waikato and Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough/West Coast which all increased by 1.2 per cent.
“Over the year, the number of vacancies increased in all ten regions,” says Mr King.
| A MBIE release || November 22, 2017 |||
Mondo's Chris Hammonds is in Thailand and was lucky enough to experience the Thai Airways 747 Flight
Nov 22, 2017 - A five-year growth pattern could see alternative proteins lead the way for consumer choice. The growth of alternative proteins is becoming a contender for sought after analogue products in its rise to rival that of traditional meat products.
A recently-released global research paper suggested growth of alternative proteins, including plant-based meat substitutes, emerging insect or algae-based products and lab-grown meat products, had started to compete for the ‘centre of the plate’ and was stealing growth from its traditional counterparts.
Authors of the Rabobank report ‘Watch out…or they will steal your growth’ warned a five-year trend could offer the chance for alternative proteins to capture a material share of animal protein demand growth in the EU and an increased market share in the US and Canada.
Report author, Rabobank global sector strategist for animal protein Justin Sherrard also said increasing momentum of the trend would see a move towards a growth in other established markets, such as Australia and New Zealand.
He said: “Three of the strongest demand drivers for alternative protein products are essentially those that are ‘pushing’ consumers away from regular animal protein consumption, namely concerns around health, animal welfare and sustainability. “That said, there is also a number of ‘pull drivers’, such as curiosity to try new products, convenience and personal nutrition.
“Alternative proteins are not the only answer to the question the market is asking right now. But right now they are the answer that is attracting the most attention.”
| Growth
Based on a prediction of annual growth rates of about 8 per cent in the EU – and the outlook for a relatively flat consumption growth of traditional meat products – Mr Sherrard said alternative proteins could represent one-third of total EU protein demand growth in the next five years.
But Rabobank’s general manager of Food and Agribusiness Research in Australia and New Zealand Tim Hunt said domestic market penetration of alternative proteins would lag that in the EU and US because local food industries were ‘not at the pointy end of the trend towards substitute food’.
“That said, the trends in Australia and NZ often eventually follow what unfolds in the EU and US, and it would be a waste not to learn from the experiences of producers in these markets,” he added.
“In line with their processing partners, meat producers need to recognise what is driving these substitutes, and do what they can to tap into the desire for healthy, sustainable and novel products delivered through a supply chain that consumers trust.”
| A Farmers Guardian release || November 22, 2017 |||
Nov 22, 2017 - Auckland University’s Michelle Dickinson and Soul Machines business chief Greg Cross are among top key speakers at the biggest artificial intelligence (AI) event ever to be held in New Zealand next year. New Zealand’s trail-blazing AI event will be held in Auckland on March 28 and will showcase the amazing strides AI has made and is making across the country, New Zealand AI Forum executive director Ben Reid says. “AI is pervading across many walks of Kiwi life and this conference is the place to hear all about the latest in AI. Some New Zealand companies are providing cutting-edge world-first products. “We’re seeing incredible AI developments on a weekly basis and they are growing. Look at how cool Netsafe has developed the AI tool Re:scam, to stop $12 billion lost globally to phishing scams every year. The recent creation of an AI weapon against scammers is the latest example of New Zealand’s innovative culture at play “AI Forum founding member Chapman Tripp has launched a new AI service for legal due diligence. And then there’s Soul Machine’s Rachel, a digital human avatar who has been created by two-time Oscar winner Mark Sagar, now working for Soul Machines.
“New Zealand’s largest companies – including ANZ, Orion Health and Air New Zealand - are rapidly taking to AI, developing innovative new products and solutions using artificial intelligence to create new approaches to old problems. All the major players in AI around New Zealand will be at the March 28 AI Day conference.”
The conference is being organised by NewZealand.AI and the NZ AI Forum, which is part of the NZTech Alliance, bringing together 14 tech communities, over 500 organisations and more than 100,000 employees to help create a more prosperous New Zealand underpinned by technology. Reid says New Zealand is seeing so much AI appearing and changing lives and every day activities at a rate that many people cannot comprehend. “We’ll see traffic lights fitted with artificial intelligence which could spell the end of rush hour queues in our cities. The link between fashion retail and technology is growing with the rampant rise of online shopping and the use of AI technology, which is transforming the way people shop. “In Britain, national health service (NHS) patients will be assessed by robots under a controversial 111 scheme to use artificial intelligence to ease pressures on accident and emergency units. “More than one million people will be given access to a free app which means they can consult with a chatbot instead of a real person. “The speedy birth of AI in New Zealand is happening right across the country. Activity and capability in New Zealand is really gathering momentum on all fronts as the country begins to apply AI and machine learning to technology exports.” He says the future impacts on the economy and society will be significant, dramatic and disruptive.
| A New Zealand.ai release || November 22, 2017 |||
Nov 21, 2017 - Robots are now being developed to sort household recyclables and differentiate between construction wastes. What will this mean for the human workers? Matt Clay in Waste Management World writes about the increasing presence of robots in industry, in particular recyclables and waste, that robots once suitable for only niche applications, are now being developed that can sort household recyclables and differentiate between construction wastes. What will this mean for the human workers? Does it mean the start of robot revolution? How accurate is the technology?
British pre-eminent scientist Prof Stephen Hawking once warned that the “development of full artificial intelligence (AI) could spell the end of the human race”. While we are many years away from AI taking over from humans in true Terminator fashion, technology has changed how we interact.
The rise of smart phones and apps have meant that electronic devices have become an extension of the body; a high tech major organ of communication. Being without it, for many, leads to what is now being called ‘nomophobia’ – the fear of being without your mobile phone.
While devices are becoming more integrated in our daily lives, one industry that perhaps hasn’t seen technological development as fast as others is waste management. Many material recovery facilities (MRFs) do contain teams of near infrared (NIR) advanced machines sorting through waste streams at a lighting pace. Yet, teams of waste pickers – people stood in lines working long and hard hours – still remain to provide final quality control; humans are still key to the operation.
| Continue here to read the full article in Waste Management World magazine || November 21, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242