Source: Eastern Institute of Technology
13 minutes ago
EIT has officially launched a refreshed phase of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Worker Training Programme, set to equip thousands of Pacific seasonal workers with practical skills.
The new programme, known as NOA Village of Learning, marks the beginning of Phase III of the MFAT-funded initiative, which has been running since 2007. The contract, which was awarded to EIT at the end of last year, will see the institute deliver more than 150 courses annually to up to 2,250 RSE workers across the country.
The training focuses on building transferable skills that workers can use both during their time in New Zealand and when they return home to support their families and communities. Courses are already underway in the Bay of Plenty, Nelson and Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay. Further rollouts are planned for Central Otago, Auckland and Northland.
Community and industry leaders, staff and invited guests gathered at EIT’s Hawke’s Bay Campus to celebrate the launch of NOA – Village of Learning, the next phase of the RSE Worker Training Programme.
The programme was launched last month with a pōwhiri and a Fijian-led kava ceremony at EIT’s Hawke’s Bay Campus in Taradale. Around 70 guests attended, including Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, representatives from Tuvalu, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, iwi leaders, church ministers, RSE employers and workers, government officials and industry partners.
EIT Operations Lead Glen Harkness said the programme reflects EIT’s commitment to growth and community.
“NOA is designed to support RSE workers on their journey to growth and the future,” Glen said. “At EIT we believe education and training is not just a process. It is a pathway to growth, community and success.”
He said NOA represents more than workforce development.
“This initiative is about strengthening social and economic wellbeing across the Pacific,” he said. “It reflects what can be achieved when we listen, collaborate and work together with a shared purpose.”
RSE Pacific Advisory Group Chair Tofilau Talalelei Taufale said: “This is the dawning of a refreshed approach to work-skills development for RSE workers”.
“Not only that, the wider implications with pedagogy and learner-centred curriculum will add to the weaving of the ʻie toga’, the fine mat of Pacific education here at EIT.”
EIT RSE National Operations Manager Meriama Taufale, who leads the implementation of NOA, said it was a privilege to serve in this space.
“Education is power, but being educated is powerful. Being able to enable and empower our RSE workers and their whānau to participate in the RSE Worker Training Programme is, for some, life-changing.”
RSE workers led a Fijian Kava ceremony at EIT’s Hawke’s Bay Campus to celebrate the launch of a refreshed phase of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Worker Training Programme.
She said the programme is built around a Pacific philosophy of reciprocity and reintegration.
“It is only right that we give them something to take home, considering a lot of the social disruption that happens in the RSE sector and what they are giving up to be here,” she said.
The programme includes two learning streams. NIU Learning, formerly Essential Learning, introduces skills such as financial literacy, digital capability, healthy living and human rights. MANAVA, the elective stream, includes hands-on vocational training in trades, small business, leadership and hospitality, aligned to the needs of labour-sending countries.
Meriama describes the model as community-driven and culturally grounded.
“The key for us is that we have facilitators who are language speakers so they can contextualise the learning. This will ensure it is not the team leaders or workers who have to translate,” she said. “We are also in the process of translating the learning material for them as well.”
Meriama said the launch marked a major milestone for the team and that collaboration would be key to its success.
“This has been a huge milestone for the team. But it is only the beginning of what we hope to build together because it really does take a village.”
