There will be revealing presentations, interactive workshops and plenty of chances to leverage our collective voice on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the food and fibre sector.
Research & Insights Forum 2025 will run across two days – Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 March – with a networking function on Tuesday evening, and the Capability Forum breakfast on Wednesday morning.
The Forum will showcase crucial projects delivered throughout the year, that help address the challenges our sector faces, specifically around workforce talent, the pace of change in technology and the uncertainty around government reforms.
Dates: Tuesday 18 March, 11:30am – 5:15pm followed by a networking function until 7:15pm
Wednesday 19 March, 8:30am – 2pm (Capability Forum breakfast from 7.30am)
Location: Wharewaka Function Centre, Taranaki Wharf, Wellington.
Note: Forum 2025 is a two-day event. One day tickets are not available
This two-day event will share knowledge, research and insights on food and fibre vocational education in Aotearoa New Zealand and provide an opportunity for you to participate in workshops and discussions.
Our Portfolio Managers will facilitate the sessions and together with the presenters answer any questions you have about the projects.
11:30am – 12.30pm – Registration, Welcome and Lunch
12.45pm – Opening Address Hon. Andrew Hoggard – Minister for Biosecurity and Food Safety and the Associate Minister of Agriculture (Animal Welfare, Skills) and for the Environment.
Shamubeel Eaqub is a distinguished New Zealand economist and a respected thought leader on strategic matters, with a deep passion for workforce development. He will offer valuable insights into the future of New Zealand’s food and fibre sector, exploring how industries can leverage new research, technology, and vocational education to achieve the government’s ambitious goals for the future.
Session one includes three presentations, with the first including a workshop, that looks at how we are preparing our workforce in the food and fibre sector.
Putting Skills First – Growing the Future Workforce
Presenters: Nicky Murray, On Task Ltd and Kathryn Koopmanschap, Boost Business Services
A presentation and workshop that explores the new Skills Framework, which is a radically simplified structure that enables recognition of skills achieved by ākonga and maximises flexibility and transferability of skills across the food and fibre sector.
Secondary School Transitions and Pathways to VET and Employment
Presenter: Josh Williams, Skills Group
Once the preliminary investigation into supporting young New Zealanders transition from secondary school to their ideal careers was completed, we initiated further engagement with employers and industry representatives. This engagement had a primary focus on policy settings and projecting a forward-thinking perspective on opportunities. Our aim was to understand how current policy and operational procedures could be optimised at the juncture of secondary school, tertiary education, and employment.
Session two rounds off day one with a series of four presentations that focus on the value of people who work in the food and fibre sector.
Retention and VET Opportunities for Seasonal Workers
Presenter: De Wet Van Der Westhuizen, Scarlatti
This research looks to uncover the untapped potential in the food and fibre sector to tackle retention challenges. One breakthrough initiative includes coordinating nationwide seasonal labour and looking into the possibilities of providing VET opportunities for this seasonal workforce. Imagine, what if the solution to workforce shortages was already within our reach?
Retaining our People – Food and Fibre Retention Pilots
Presenter: Emma Boase, PwC
A pioneering project to pilot a new interactive digital toolkit, custom-designed for food and fibre employers, that looks to improve workplace performance, leading to a significant improvement in industry retention rates.
Project SNAPSHOTS
Presenter: Dr Lesley Petersen
AQNZ Mentoring Programme
Aquaculture NZ addressed concerns about retaining emerging leaders and are establishing a mentoring programme to address this. Hear about this initiative, which will be considered for broader application across the food and fibre sector.
Growing Future Horticulturalists Internship Evaluation
Discover insights and valuable learnings about the impact on students’ career trajectories from this pilot internship programme, and how it could pave the way for other food and fibre industries to create their own impactful internships.
5:15-7:15pm – Networking (same venue).
7:30am – Capability Forum breakfast.
8:30am – Setting the scene for Day 2.
Three presentations that look at the latest technological advancements. Discover how these emerging technologies can revolutionise food and fibre VET, and find out what resources we need to refine or expand, and how we can potentially harness and utilise this technology to fuel progress.
Emerging Technologies
Presenters: Lilla du Toit with Dan Browne and Hamish Webber, Indelible
Unlock the potential of cutting-edge technologies like VR, AI, and Gamification in your education and training programmes. Discover how these innovative tools can be seamlessly integrated into your organisation to revolutionise your working methods and hear how pilot programmes were successfully tailored to DairyNZ and Beef and Lamb.
Digital Assessments Project
Presenters: Adam Barker and Phoebe Gill, Scarlatti
A review of the use and opportunities for technology in assessments.
Online Food and Fibre Vocational Excellence Framework – Phase 1 / Phase 2
Presenters: Adam Barker and Julie Moularde Scarlatti and/or Josh Williams, Skills Group
Content to come.
Moderated by Samantha Tennent, this interactive panel discussion and workshop will explore how the future is being disrupted, building on key themes raised during the previous three sessions.
Panel Members: Will be confirmed closer to the event.
12:30pm – Final remarks and closing.
1pm – Lunch provided.
2pm – Forum closes.
Our presenters and facilitators, together with our portfolio management team, bring extensive vocational education, research and industry experience.
Adam is the founder of Scarlatti, a research, evaluation and analytics company. His work spans the areas that Scarlatti operates in including extension programme design, social and market research, workforce research, impact modelling, and operations research. Adam holds a Bachelor of Engineering, University of Auckland and a Doctorate in Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK.
Phoebe is a Research Manager with Scarlatti. She works predominantly in social research, monitoring and evaluation. She began her journey to research and evaluation in Brazil, supporting projects on social services, gender violence and education, for NGOS, governments and intergovernmental agencies. She holds a Conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Commerce, University of Auckland.
Dr Lesley Petersen is a recognised specialist in mentoring and learning and development, with over 30 years of experience. She is known for her work in designing and implementing evidence-based mentoring frameworks that empower organisations to foster inclusive, growth-oriented environments. Lesley has worked with clients across corporate, government, and education sectors, driving meaningful organisational and individual development. In addition to her mentoring work, programme evaluation is a key part of her business, where she conducts impact evaluations to enhance programme effectiveness and sustainability. Over the last three years, she has collaborated with Food and Fibre CoVE on projects evaluating the impact and outcomes of different initiatives, as well as their transferability in other industries in addition to food and fibre.
Emma is an Associate Director with PwC’s Food and Fibre team, bringing over a decade of experience in food and fibre value-chain projects across New Zealand, the USA, Asia, and Europe. She has delivered strategies, plans, evaluations, digital solutions, process improvements, and internationally recognised research. Much of Emma’s work focuses on developing the food and fibre workforce through applied research, designing and delivering user-friendly systems and tools, and collaborating with learners, education providers, industry, and government.
Dr Nicky Murray is the Director of On Task Ltd, a research consultancy that focuses on vocational education and training, learner agency, and adult literacy and numeracy. Nicky has worked and researched extensively across the workplace-based learning sector since 2005, applying her postgraduate and doctoral work in a variety of settings.
Arthur Graves has had a long and respected career as a secondary and tertiary sector leader. Formerly Principal of Greymouth High School, Deputy Chief Executive of Whitireia Polytechnic, Chief Executive of Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre, as well as the Chair of the Secondary Principals’ Association and Careers NZ. Arthur is well known as a systems thinker and strategist, including as Youth Guarantee implementation manager, where he led and managed the cross-agency implementation programme to operationalise secondary-tertiary interface initiatives. As a consultant Arthur now works extensively with industry partners and government, including the development of the National Education Learning Priorities and Tertiary Education Strategy.
De Wet’s work at Scarlatti spans workforce research and organisational change. He has a background in labour market economics and has experience in employee wellbeing research and workforce modelling. De Wet brings corporate and academic experience, having spent several years in the telecommunications sector before returning to academia to build his research career. Throughout this period, De Wet engaged in workforce-related projects, providing insights into the challenges faced, and outcome of, vulnerable populations within New Zealand’s labour market. He holds a Bachelor of Business with Honours, Master of Business with Honours and Doctorate in Economics from Auckland University of Technology.
Dan Browne and Hamish Webber bring their expertise in virtual reality (VR) to transform training and safety solutions. Indelible harnesses VR to deliver immersive experiences that enhance industry processes, with a focus on practical applications for sectors like food and fibre. Dan and Hamish collaborate to implement emerging technologies that add tangible value for clients. At the Forum, they will discuss VR’s role in fostering growth, sharing insights into how Indelible’s innovative approach can support effective training and engagement tailored to meet industry needs
Julie is a Research Manager with Scarlatti, a research and evaluation firm supporting organisations to drive practice change. Originally from France, Julie came to Aotearoa in 2013 after a decade in Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and a Masters of Tourism Management (First Class Honours) from Victoria University of Wellington. Julie’s work with Food and Fibre CoVE includes leading the Non-formal and informal project. She has also been involved in other VET research projects with Te Pūkenga. Her strength is using mixed methodologies and qualitative research to investigate consumer attitudes and behaviour change.
