Two forestry training initiatives for Gisborne
THIS MONTH SEES THE START OF TWO new training programmes to help attract more people into forestry on the East Coast and equip them with the right skills and safety knowledge.
The Eastland Wood Council is behind the Generation Programme that was announced back in April, while Gisborne-based training provider, Train Me Quality Services, has developed a new forestry training model to be run under the banner of the National Network of ManaiaSAFE Forestry Schools.
Coincidentally, both training programmes are set to start on October 15 and while they will run separately at first, the Eastland Wood Council and Train Me Quality Services told NZ Logger they aim to work more closely in the future.
Both programmes have been set up with the assistance of government funding, with the Generation Programme to receive $215,000 over three years from the He Poutama Rangatahi employment scheme, plus an additional $60,000 from the Ministry of Social Development. The ManaiaSAFE Forestry School is getting $301,000 to pilot its logging training programme from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF), plus support from the Eastland Community Trust and the Forest Growers Levy Trust.
The Generation Programme will see participants will spend six weeks with a forestry base camp industry introduction programme, followed by ‘learn while you earn’ work with contractors, complemented by part-time courses through EIT Tairawhiti, Turanga Ararau and Competenz. All the while students will receive pastoral care from First Choice Employment.
The new programme is set to produce 12 graduates in the first year, 30 in the second and 60 in the third.
Eastland Wood Council Chief Executive, Kim Holland, says the programme is a real collaboration between the region’s key stakeholders that ensures trainees are qualified through a real-world introduction to the different sectors within the industry.
“It’s a multi-stakeholder approach with industry and training providers working together to ensure that the training meets industry’s skills needs,” says Ms Holland.
“We all want to make sure the programme succeeds and I believe by doing this it will better prepare the young people and increase the uptake by contractors as they will have more confidence in the abilities of the young people to do the work.”
Ms Holland says base camp trainees will work towards a New Zealand Certificate in Foundation Forestry Skills Level 2, which would pathway into Level 3 and 4 qualifications, with on-the-job training pathways across forestry and harvesting options.
Meanwhile, the ManaiaSAFE scheme is being run in partnership with the Eastern Institute of Technology to test the feasibility of the most complex part of the training model – using the network’s harvesting sites to deliver practical harvesting training.
The innovative feature of the training model is access to a learning environment that is fully health and safety compliant, and fit-for-purpose that supports Maori kaupapabased teaching and learning practice.
“We have been engaging with industry and other key stakeholders for the past two years to ensure that our training model is robust, delivers the right outcomes and involves the right people,” says the school’s Managing Director, Steve Beach.
“During the pilot we will be looking for opportunities on how the training environment can be best leveraged to provide young people with safe passage into the industry and also to upskill our current workforce.”
Eastland Wood Council’s Kim Holland says that ultimately the pilot logging school will become a training pathway within the new Eastland Wood Council-driven Generation Programme, which aims to ensure that new trainees are given a real-world introduction to the different sectors within the industry.
Henry Koia is charged with project managing the ManaiaSAFE pilot where a cable harvesting operation will be used to deliver learning outcomes without the normal productivity targets of a commercial crew.
He says: “This is the difference between our model and orthodox training that happens on the job-site.”
Six industry experienced mentors will be available to trainees on-site to provide the Tuakana-Teina aspect of teaching and learning. Trainees will receive travel assistance and pastoral care that supports their wellbeing while they learn.
Graduates of the 20-week pilot training programme will hold the New Zealand Certificate in Forest Harvesting Operations at Level 3, with strands in either tree-felling and quality control, breaking out cable, or manual processing and quality control.
More importantly, the graduates will be work-ready says Mr Koia: “This means they can be employed on a commercial logging operation with the knowledge they need to do their jobs safely and efficiently.”
FICA Chief executive, Prue Younger, says training for task and training on-site is what really works for this industry, adding: “To have the privilege of trainers working side by side with newbies in the industry is proving the only way to go.”
NZL