MITO's Annual Industry Summit
The MITO Board hosted the fourth annual Industry Summit on 1 June 2016 at Te Papa, Wellington.
With the theme ‘Investing today in tomorrow’s talent’ the room of senior leaders from the breadth of MITO’s industry associations and corporate employers heard from a variety of speakers sharing their experience in regards to attracting new staff and retaining a skilled workforce.
One of the highlights of the day was pyschologist and TV personality Nigel Latta who debunked the myth of generational diversity and explained that all workers are motivated by the same ‘big three’ things: (i) Autonomy – having a sense of control and ability to make change; (ii) Relatedness – concern and care for each other and your employees; and (iii) Competency – ensuring your employees have the skills to do their job and keep developing those skills.
Ministry of Transport Chief Executive Martin Matthews provided a fascinating insight into Intelligent Transport Systems, driverless cars and platooning trucks. It seems that the future of rail in the northern half of the North Island is uncertain and he believes that transport change will occur more quickly than his imagination permits.
Hon Louise Upston, in her capacity as Associate Minister, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, spoke of the importance of getting young people into industry and reiterated a point made by Nigel Latta that industry needs to reach out to career advisors and teachers as they cannot recommend what they can’t see or understand.
Jan Carter from Careers New Zealand and Jane Stella from Toyota New Zealand outlined the Work Inspiration programme which sees secondary school students immersed in a workplace for 3-5 days opening their eyes to the breadth of career opportunities.
Janet Lane, MITO’s Chief Executive, provided an overview of activity over the past year and the strategic plan for 2016-2021 which consists of three key focus areas: (i) providing ‘fit for purpose’ training programmes aligned to New Zealand certificates; (ii) workplace engagement and retention strategies; and (iii) attracting new and emerging talent. Janet also shared MITO’s refreshed mission of ‘enhancing workplace productivity, innovation and industry sustainability’ and a new vision of ‘enriching lives and inspiring futures’.
At the end of the day ideas were shared by the delegates on how they would attract and retain their staff with various ideas suggested, including establishing relationships with schools, developing career and training pathways, and offering staff incentives for attracting new workers.
The information-packed day concluded with a cocktail function, with guest speaker Hon Michael Woodhouse, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety. He gave an insightful talk about the new legislation and its purpose of ensuring all workers, across all industries, are safe at work.
This annual event enables industry leaders and other stakeholders to have the opportunity to network, discuss topical issues and engage with MITO’s Board Directors and senior leadership team.