• Era of strong partnerships signalled
• Transition TEC gets down to work
• 'Students Work' launched
• New Social Development Ministry head named
• NZQA register launched

ERA OF STRONG PARTNERSHIPS SIGNALLED
Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Steve Maharey signalled a new era of strong and active partnerships between government and community organisations to the first national conference of Volunteering New Zealand in Auckland last week.

Mr Maharey was outlining the government's response to the April 2001 report of Community and Voluntary Sector Working Party. The report called for fundamental, long-term change in the relationship between central government and New Zealand's approximately 60,000 voluntary organisations.

Mr Maharey said that reinvigorating the spirit of generosity and participation in our society is key to realising a vision of New Zealand as a vibrant and creative, successful and inclusive nation.

Concrete work is now underway to progress the report's recommendations, including:

• the development of a formal Statement of Intent which outlines how state agencies intend changing the way they relate to non-government partners (due to be completed in September);

• the establishment of a small community-based steering group, chaired by Dorothy Wilson who led the Working Party, to work through the report's other recommendations;

• demonstration partnership projects across a number of government agencies such as the Stronger Communities Action Fund and the recently established Pacific Social Service Consortiums (both coordinated by Child, Youth and Family);

• an injection of $2.19m over four years to support volunteering; and,

• work within the Ministry of Social Policy to lower the compliance costs faced by community provides who contract with government agencies.

TRANSITION TEC GETS DOWN TO WORK
The transition Tertiary Education Commission got to work promptly this week with the first meeting of its Charters and Profiles Working Party. As signalled in the May Budget all publicly funded providers and industry training organisations will be subject to a system of profiles and charters that set out their strategic direction and activities and detail how they align with the overall tertiary education strategy. The Working Party is charged with reporting on:

• the operational functions of extended charters and profiles;
• whether the use of functional classifications in the process is desirable;
• compliance, administration and transition costs;
• integration with existing mechanisms; and
• associated change management in the tertiary education system.

The Working Party is chaired by transition TEC Deputy Chair, Kay Turner, and includes a broad range of sector representatives along with nominees of Business New Zealand and the Council of Trade Unions.

'STUDENTS WORK' LAUNCHED
Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton and Social Services and Employment Minister Steve Maharey announced a new 'Students Work' package of student summer employment and assistance initiatives last week.

The package comprises two key elements:

• a trial business growth and student employment project called Snap, and
• changes to student assistance provided by the Department of Work and Income (DWI) designed to help students get into meaningful summer employment.

Mr Anderton said Snap is a Government response to the difficulty many businesses have in finding affordable and capable short-term employees, and to the need students have for meaningful holiday work. The programme will locate up to 1000 new jobs by matching the employment needs of business with the qualifications of tertiary students.

The other arm of the 'Students Work' package will see DWI able to provide a new Student Work Start Grant to help with essential costs faced by students starting work over the summer which they cannot afford to pay themselves. An Unemployment Benefit (Student Hardship) may also be available to provide short term financial support to help meet living costs while the students look for holiday work.

Mr Maharey said students can benefit considerably from taking a summer job related to their field of study. It gives them an introduction to workplace skills and disciplines and a chance to apply practically what they have learned during the year.

NEW SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY HEAD NAMED
The appointment of Peter Hughes as chief executive of the new Ministry of Social Development was announced by the State Services Commissioner this week. Mr Hughes currently heads the Department of Internal Affairs.

The Ministry of Social Development comes into being on 1 October through the merger of the current Ministry of Social Policy and the Department of Work and Income. It will have two main roles - to deliver employment and income support services nationwide, and to provide the Government with advice on service delivery and on social policy, including strategic social policy. The Government intends that the Ministry will become its primary advisor on cross-sectoral strategic social policy, and on the effectiveness of all policy from a social perspective.

Mr Hughes was appointed Secretary for Internal Affairs late last year. Earlier he was the acting chief executive of the Health Funding Authority. He has previously held front-line and management positions in the Department of Social Welfare and has a Masters degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

NZQA REGISTER LAUNCHED
The New Zealand Register of Quality Assured Qualifications, developed by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, was launched last week. The Register brings together all approved qualifications available in New Zealand tertiary institutions and secondary schools. It will enable students and employers to compare qualifications and make informed choices about qualifications pathways.