Workchoice brand set to move to The Skills Organisation
Youth employment brand Workchoice is to become part of the country’s largest Industry Training Organisation (ITO), The Skills Organisation.
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Youth employment brand Workchoice is to become part of the country’s largest Industry Training Organisation (ITO), The Skills Organisation. The move will strengthen Workchoice programmes, ensuring they remain relevant and effective in maximising the employability of our youth.
With a history of positively impacting thousands of young people, youth employment charity, the Workchoice Trust, has been at the fore of developing initiatives to bridge the education-to-employment gap. Through its Workchoice brand, the Trust has gained recognition as a leading voice in the field of youth employment and transitioning.
Following significant research into market requirements, skills shortages, and the changing dynamics of schools, the Trust has identified the need to align Workchoice with a larger, well-resourced entity, in order to safeguard the long-term sustainability of its programmes. As a result, Workchoice programmes; Workchoice Day, Workchoice Teachers’ Day and Workchoice Earn and Learn, will move to The Skills Organisation.
Jane Kennelly, Workchoice Trust Chair, says The Skills Organisation was the obvious choice because of the synergies between the two organisations, and its vast connections to business and industry.
“Like Workchoice Trust, The Skills Organisation, is innovative, proactive and passionate about enhancing employment opportunities for young New Zealanders,” says Kennelly.
“Since 2012, The Skills Organisation has been a valued supporter and partner of the Trust, and during this time we’ve worked collaboratively to develop and deliver exciting events for youth and educators. We share the same vision – to increase the pool of young people available for skilled employment in New Zealand’s industries – making The Skills Organisation the perfect home for Workchoice programmes,” she adds.
The move is effective from 1st October 2015 and the Trust is confident existing partner schools and businesses will experience a seamless transition.
Roger Lampen, Workchoice Trust Founder, believes this is a positive outcome for the organisation he established in 2004, and great news for industry partners, schools and young people.
“In establishing the Trust, my goal was to positively contribute to the career decision-making process of young people, so it’s extremely rewarding to reflect on the Trust’s success over the past 22 years. During this time, we’ve provided guidance to 168,000 young people, from hundreds of schools, connecting them to thousands of workplaces,” says Lampen.
“This is an exciting new era for Workchoice initiatives, and we’re confident that our legacy will live on as these programmes continue to go from strength-to-strength under the guidance of The Skills Organisation,” he adds.
Garry Fissenden, The Skills Organisation chief executive, says the Workchoice programmes will sit with the ‘Skills Choice’, the school-to-work transition team, complementing its existing programmes for schools, including Gateway, Bright Sparks, Vocational Pathways, Teacher Professional Development and The Skills Organisation’s ambassador programme.
“The Skills Organisation has partnered with Workchoice for the past three years, and in that time we've experienced first-hand the power of their neutral brand in promoting the world of work to our nation's youth. The Workchoice brand perfectly complements our ground-breaking Got a Trade campaign, and will be a key vehicle for our school-to-work transition services,” explains Fissenden.
