Tradestaff is celebrating the success of the Canterbury Trade Pilot Initiative Programme. Twenty-one graduates were recently awarded the certificate in New Zealand Level 4 Carpentry.
As part of a PACER Plus initiative Tradestaff partnered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on the pilot scheme. PACER Plus is a trade and economic integration agreement between New Zealand and Pacific Island Governments that aims to create jobs, raise standards of living and encourage sustainable economic growth in the Pacific region.
The pilot project was designed to provide an opportunity for up to 24 skilled carpenters from the Pacific Islands to fill job shortages in the Christchurch rebuild.
Kevin Eder, Managing Director of Tradestaff, says the pilot project was a great success.
"This programme has been a win-win for all stakeholders. Tradestaff was able to ensure our Pasifika pilot workers remained in consistent work throughout the programme. Many of them were personally requested by our clients as they have become recognised as hard workers with great skills.
"Pacific nations are at regular risk of severe cyclones that cause widespread damage. With the support of their governments, we expect the graduates to return home with greater experience and skills from their time with us. We were able to expose them to a wide variety of work environments, providing learning experiences across construction techniques they would not otherwise had the chance to encounter."
Tradestaff ensured the recruits were taken through a specifically tailored induction programme. This covered everything from health and safety practices and expectations, site safe training, kiwi building jargon, and familiarisation with what to expect on a large commercial construction site. With support from ARA Institute of Canterbury the recruits were provided with onsite training and skills assessment throughout the pilot programme, culminating in them being awarded the certificate in New Zealand Level 4 Carpentry.
"We are confident the outcomes that we have achieved are in line with the spirit of the PACER Plus agreement and will raise the standard of living for those involved and encourage sustainable economic development for the Pacific nations included," Eder says.
Tradestaff was recently recognised for their work with the Pasifika migrant workers. It received the Award for Excellence in Candidate Care at the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association (RCSA) New Zealand Industry Awards.
Labour mobility schemes
The 2007-10 Gibson & McKenzie report on Vanuatu and Tonga found the following for countries involved in a labour mobility scheme:
The following applies to the receiving countries:
It is predicted that within three years 100 percent of all effective IoT efforts will be supported by cognitive or artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, a landmark New Zealand IoT Alliance study says. For an IoT deployment to be really effective, New Zealand organisations need applications such as machine learning and cognitive systems to obtain insight and action from data, the report says. The 92-page report was commissioned by the New Zealand IoT Alliance, an independent member funded group of tech firms, major corporates, startups, universities and government agencies. It says the potential net benefit to New Zealand could be worth as much as $3.3 billion over 10 years from just nine applications of IoT alone. Alliance chair and NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says New Zealand can be more effective and efficient, by understanding and acting on a raft of improvements from issues as simple as water system improvements and intelligent street lighting through to more complex challenges such as driverless vehicles and better farm management. To achieve this, New Zealand needs more collaboration between businesses to understand the wider opportunities that IoT data and the combination of data sources can provide. “A clear Government position on IoT will help New Zealand to deploy cohesive and unified smart city initiatives across the country. Government investment in flagship IoT initiatives will also accelerate New Zealand's transition. “IoT is a discipline, no different than finance or planning and requires national leadership. A national role of chief technology officer would help provide leadership in this burgeoning area. “Accelerating a connected New Zealand and artificial intelligence (AI) applications will be particularly useful for understanding unstructured data, such as video, sound and images.” By 2019, it is estimated that more than 75 percent of IoT device manufacturers will improve their security and privacy capabilities, removing risk for technology buyers. “As security and privacy challenges are overcome, use cases involving human data will hit the spotlight in New Zealand. For example, connected cars, insurance telematics and personal wellness,” Muller says. To deliver a programme that creates awareness and develops knowledge, the report says New Zealand first requires an IoT vision and strategy. The vision and strategy needs to consider: • Is the right structure in place to create a sustainable and scalable IoT ecosystem in New Zealand? • What overseas models could the New Zealand Government learn from? • Should the Government partner with industry to look globally for the best emerging technologies and bring that technology to New Zealand? • What are the key IoT areas we aspire New Zealand to be world leaders in? • How will we enable the ecosystem to deliver innovation? Developing the right policy and regulatory frameworks for privacy and security will enable an explosion of new uses of IoT to be invested in as enterprises are no longer inhibited by uncertainty. As IoT matures in New Zealand, with appropriate support and guidance it will become mainstream in most enterprise's digital transformation journeys. Organisations will endeavour to use IoT for a competitive advantage, improve customer experience and gain deep insights into their business, alongside improvements to productivity and efficiency, Muller says.
| A Make Lemonade release || JUne 30, 2017 |||
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The Reserve Bank today published a report on compliance by insurers with the requirements to disclose their financial strength ratings and solvency information.
A recent survey by the Reserve Bank of a sample of 36 of the 89 licensed insurers found that the overall level of compliance with disclosure rules was well short of minimum requirements, with 53 percent of respondents complying at a low or poor level, and only 22 percent performing relatively well but with room to improve further. Only three insurers demonstrated an excellent level of compliance. Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Grant Spencer said “While we can’t necessarily extrapolate these results to all insurers, the results were very disappointing. Compliance with disclosure obligations needs to improve”. The survey should not be read as indicating underlying viability issues. The report shows that the most common issues found were: insurers not meeting their legal requirements to disclose the financial strength rating in writing prior to policyholders entering into and/or renewing a contract of insurance; solvency disclosure in financial statements being incomplete or incorrect; and website disclosures being incorrect, incomplete or not updated within the required timeframe.
“Compliance with disclosure requirements is a key component of the Reserve Bank’s prudential framework, which emphasises market discipline in addition to regulatory and self-discipline,” Mr Spencer said. Insurers have been told to improve and those who rated poor and low must report back to the Reserve Bank on improvements made. The Reserve Bank will undertake further assessment of compliance with disclosure obligations. “We need to see a marked improvement in compliance across the industry, and with some urgency,” Mr Spencer said. More information:Thematic Review – Insurer Disclosures
| A RBNZ release || June 29, 2017 |||
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Jacqui Dean has today released the terms of reference for a review of the Copyright Act 1994.
“Copyright affects how people create, distribute and access information,” Ms Dean says.
“It is important we ensure our copyright regime is fit for purpose in today’s rapidly changing technological environment.
“Launching a review now will also build on the insights of the Government’s Study of the role of copyright and designs in the creative sector, completed last year.
“The Study highlighted a range of opportunities and challenges faced by users, creators and owners of digital content. This review will look into these opportunities and challenges to ensure we have the right settings in New Zealand.”
The terms of reference provide an outline of the objectives, context and process for the review and will be further refined with industry feedback on an issues paper.
“I want stakeholders to get involved in the early stages of the review. In the coming months we will develop the issues paper and will be looking to engage with the wider industry,” Ms Dean says.
The terms of reference and further information on the review and Study are available on the MBIE website: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/business/intellectual-property/copyright/review-copyright-act-1994
| A Beehive release || June 29, 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