2021 review

Well, the year turned out more settled than envisaged as Aotearoa continued to work within the constrains presented by Covid-19. Borders remained closed and for much of the year, things progressed as per normal. However, the arrival of the Delta strain in August saw a brief return (in Christchurch) to level 4 before moving quickly down to Level 3 and then 2. Auckland has borne the brunt of the incursion, having been in ‘lockdown’ since August and a slow movement back to a ‘reduced’ Level 3 at the end of November and ‘release’ into the wider country from mid-December.

On the work front, Te Pūkenga released consultation documents for their ‘service concepts’ (July) and then their operational model(October). My institute has been proactive with submissions and hope these add to the consultative process as Te Pūkenga’s bedding-in progresses. The main item which will affect my work in the future, is the consolidation of all of Te Pūkenga’s capability development into a ‘single hub’. I interpret this to mean that the management of capability development will be centralised but local units will carry out the work.

Not as much programme development work this year, given the move towards unified/master programme approach adopted by Te Pūkenga. The beginning of the year saw support for 4 degree programmes in the Creative Industries Department. Ongoing support of the Diploma in Agricultural Management (L5) continues.

On the research front, the majority of my energies have been put into editing the book “Innovations in Aotearoa New Zealand Vocational Education and Training (VET)” now renamed to “Reshaping Vocational Education and Training in Aotearoa New Zealand” and scheduled for publication by Springer next year. In addition to managing the project with Dr. Nicolas (Nyk) Huntington, I have also co-authored the first and last chapters in the volume and lead authored the ‘project-based learning’ chapter.

A book chapter was submitted in October towards the Handbook of Asia-Pacific Adult Learning. The chapter discusses recognition of current competency (RPL) in the Aotearoa NZ context.

Co-editorship with Profession Sarojni Choy on the International Journal of Training Research has also provided much learning. We are starting to come to grips with the process and the rather clunky journal editing platform, appointed 4 new associate editors, worked with AVETRA to update the journal’s scope, and also reviewed/refreshed the list of scholars who make up the editorial board.

Work has also begun in my now larger team due to small restructure of ‘capability’. My team of learning designers/educator developers, resource advisors and learning technology advisors now combined with adult education section and the corporate capability development unit to provide a more consolidated approach for academic and organisational capability. The new capability section is now part of the People and Capability Division and aligns better with the proposed Te Pūkenga organisation structure. This team will need some major professional development, going forward, to ensure we are able to keep ahead of the game and provide leadership and guidance to our teaching departments as Te Pūkenga moves towards provision of more flexible, open, and distributed/networked learning approaches.

All in, a busy but productive year 😊 I am looking forward to a couple of weeks post-Xmas, walking, biking, and botanising in Southland.