February 2025
Introduction
The Restaurant Association of New Zealand (the Restaurant Association) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on options for the future of Work-based Learning.
The mission of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand is to be the link between good food and good business so that our Member’s restaurant or café can succeed. We’re passionate about our vibrant industry, which is full of interesting, talented and entrepreneurial people.
Since 1972, the Restaurant Association has worked to offer advice, help and assistance in every facet of the vibrant and diverse hospitality industry. Our Members cover the length and breadth of the country: we are organised into 13 regional branches and led by a national office located in Mt Eden, Auckland.
As the peak representative body for businesses where food is the hero of their operations, we are particularly focused on ensuring that businesses can be more engaged in work-based learning opportunities. As such, our priority for these reforms is keeping the system as simple as possible for the end user, and ensuring that sufficient time is given to allow the new system to work.
Consultation questions
Which of the two models – Independent or Collaborative work-based learning – does your organisation prefer?
In principle, we prefer the Independent Work-based learning model for the simplicity in how work-based learning would be organised, and clear lines of communication for the student and an employer.
Why will your preferred model work best for employers and learners in work-based learning?
The overwhelming majority of the hospitality industry is made up of small businesses, often with owners working on the frontline as well as in the back office. We have also heard commentary throughout this consultation expressing disappointment in business owners who have not taken up apprentices in a work-based learning arrangement.
It is our position that if work-based learning is to succeed, both the system and the practicalities of taking on an apprentice in non-traditional (i.e. outside of the trades) settings must be as simple as possible. At the very least, employers who participate in a work-based learning arrangement should be no worse off than those who do not participate, which is why students in our cookery traineeship programme, Te Tupu Tahi, are supported in their work-based learning by staff from the Restaurant Association, taking some of the pressure off businesses who have taken on the apprentices.
What does your organisation think are the main benefits, costs and risks of each option for employers and learners in your industry?
It is important to note that there is not a unified view across industries about what the best system looks like. While there are some areas of agreement across industries, the most pressing needs for each sector are more likely to be unique, requiring boutique standards and qualifications to be developed that meet their individual needs.
Employer satisfaction with the vocational education system is critical to ensuring that our ITP sector is delivering the training required, however at present this satisfaction is not formally measured. The Restaurant Association recommends that the new work-based learning system should incorporate high levels of engagement with employers and industry bodies, to ensure the sector is providing a valuable pipeline of skilled graduates who can enter the workforce without the need for retraining.
Both models will involve a transition process but this will be different for each. What will be the critical factors in making transitions work for your industry?
Key to the success of these reforms is industry buy-in, and to do so the work-based learning system must be able to adapt to the real-world needs of both learners and employers. Industry input into industry-specific training programmes is key to ensuring that those industries work to deliver a successful learning experience.
Further, these reforms must be given the time to bed in and succeed. The vocational education system has been through significant structural changes in recent years, and this constant disruption has led to a lack of confidence in the system’s ability to deliver the training and skills needed by industry.
Conclusion
We thank the Ministry for the opportunity to provide further feedback on vocational education reforms. We would be happy to discuss any part of this submission in more detail, and to provide any assistance that may be required.