On May 10, 2021, Te Pūkenga and Te Wānanga O Aotearoa (TWoA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The MoU is intended to reflect the work and commitment of both organisations to boost achievement, skills and training across the vocational education and training (VET) sector.

Industry Training organisations (ITOs) spend much of their effort ‘arranging training’ which requires working closely between employers and their apprentices.

Under the Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE), both Te Pūkenga and TWoA are reviewing this to better understand and develop new ways of supporting the ākonga (learners).

These new support methods may see improved pastoral care models and finding better ways of working with employers to assist them to deliver training to their apprentices.

The agreement is intended to recognise that while each party has a separate identity and brand, they are keen to collaborate in advancing the interests of ākonga and kaiwhakawhiwhi mahi (employers).

Other areas of collaboration include allowing staff to work within each other’s organisation to build relationships and input into relevant workstreams.