2023 has been a year of challenges and opportunities so when we asked the team to reflect on the past 12 months some key themes resonated.
Relationship building with our stakeholders, project participants and research partners is at our heart, creating a solid foundation for important conversations that will move the dial (that we would not have been able to do otherwise). From participation at the Research & Insights Forum to steering committees, conferences and regular meetings, sharing of knowledge and expertise creates a collective voice for the food and fibre sector.
The development of a dedicated pan-sector food and fibre diploma/degree that is an apprenticeship is a game changer. Giving employees a career pathway and an earn while you learn degree is exciting, and will not only lift education levels across the sector and Aotearoa, but change the perception that primary industries is only for non-academic students.
Bringing projects to life and seeing organisations acknowledge and embrace them, for example: Horticulture NZ testing their leadership programmes against the Food and Fibre Leadership Framework, and Muka Tangata building on the framework with the Māori Development Framework. Establishing the group training organisation pilot has the potential to create a significant shift for the primary industry’s labour supply and quality of employment.