Waihanga Ara Rau, the Workforce Development Council for Construction and Infrastructure, is transforming moderation beyond a traditional compliance-centric process and looking at the systems and practices providers use to evaluate and continually improve their learning and assessment opportunities for ākonga.
Is this just another audit? No. It is an opportunity for the provider to explain their systems and practices and for Waihanga Ara Rau to understand them better and along with how they contribute to the Construction andInfrastructure sectors.
‘Profiling’ a provider is key to getting there. Each ‘Provider Profile’ is unique and has been developed to reflecttheir organisation. Moreover, it is a ‘living’ document which grows collaboratively through Waihanga Ara Rau and provider input.
A ‘Provider Profiles’ pilot was initiated in early February, officially marking the Assurance Team’s 2023 Assurance (Transformation) Plan launch. Six providers were involved. With the first round of visits having now been completed, we are learning:
- A lot more about providers. Discussions around self-assurance are highlighting just how robust providers’ systems and processes are.
- A lot more about ourselves. We are listening to feedback from providers and streamlining the process as we go. Our own self-assurance process ensures we are learning alongside our providers.
- About Mātauranga Māori. Our assurance Tēnei Te Ara Poutama framework focuses on the way we, as the Kāhui Aromātairua, not only identify mātauranga Māori but how we consciously gather all mātauranga, how we respectively manage all mātauranga and how we further develop the benefits we create collaboratively that derive from mātauranga Māori.
Mike Grumball, the GM for Assurance commented, “We are learning along the way as we roll out our AssurancePlan nationally. Providers have been open and honest with us as we build a relationship with them. It is about how we can work alongside providers to ensure success for all ākonga. Our plan incorporates all aspects of assurance including pre-assessment and post-assessment moderation, consent to assess, and programme endorsement.”
