The Restaurant Association and Hospitality New Zealand will bring their training, leadership and accreditation programmes together on one national platform, after a joint application to the Hospitality Training Trust was approved.
The Trust’s backing means programmes that once served one membership will soon be open to both. Accommodation providers, restaurants, cafés, bars and pubs will all have access to the same range of training, in one place.
It is the clearest result yet of the Memorandum of Understanding the two organisations first signed in December 2024 and renewed earlier this year. That agreement committed both organisations to work together where it serves members and the industry. Training is where that commitment is now turning into real change for members.
Hospitality NZ Chief Executive Kristy Phillips says, “This is exactly the sort of initiative the MOU was intended to support. Both organisations have built strong training over many years, available to our own members. Bringing it together means more people in hospo get access to the best of both.”
Restaurant Association General Manager Nicola Waldren agrees, “Hospitality business owners tell us that finding and keeping skilled staff is one of their biggest pressures. Bringing our training together and opening it up to a much wider group of businesses, means more choice and better pathways for teams as we continue to develop the talent within our industry.”
The platform combines six areas of work:
- Online learning: free access to Typsy’s library of more than 1,500 hospitality modules, extended to a further 15,000+ staff
- Wellbeing: Healthy Hospo, ResilienceOS and both organisations’ mental health resources, brought into one place instead of sitting on separate platforms
- Compliance and safety: Licence Controller Qualification, food safety, health and safety, Safer Venues, Host Responsibility and Gambling Harm Minimisation training, delivered as one coordinated offer
- Leadership: HNZ’s Future Leaders Programme and Shane Green Leadership Course, alongside the Restaurant Association’s leadership workshops, Elevate Hospitality Service and Leadership Launchpad
- Accreditation: Expansion of HospoCred, the Restaurant Association’s employer accreditation programme, across the combined membership
- Qualification pathways: Strengthened collaboration with ServiceIQ, the Industry Skills Board and education providers to support industry-led training and qualification pathways
Some of the training will also be offered to businesses outside the combined membership, either free or for a modest fee, to help uplift skills and capabilities for the wider industry.
The development of a national platform builds directly on the 2026 Hospitality Summit, which Hospitality NZ and the Restaurant Association ran together at Parliament. Skills and training was one of the Summit’s main themes. Industry and officials called for structured education-to-employment pathways, flexible training models, formal training for specialist roles and a stronger industry voice in vocational education.
A joined-up platform puts that agenda into practice. One coordinated offer is easier for businesses to use and gives the sector a single, credible voice when qualifications and training pathways are designed.
“The Summit told us what the industry needs: training that fits how hospitality actually works, and clear pathways for people who want a career in it,” says Kristy Phillips. “This is industry taking the lead on that.”
“When hospitality teams have access to great training, venues are safer, businesses are stronger and guests have better experiences.,” says Nicola Waldren. “This is a a great step for every business in hospitality.”
Work begins this year on setting up and designing the platform, through a staged process. Content will then be integrated and tested through the first half of 2027, with the full offer anticipated to be live by mid-2027. Members will be kept updated as each stage is delivered.