Kia ora,

ATTTO Chairman Rick Bettle announced this week that I will be leaving ATTTO on 14 October. I am excited about the challenge of returning to study, but am sad to bid farewell to ATTTO after four years as Chief Executive.

I have been fortunate to lead this organisation through a period of positive change. Over the past few years ATTTO has strengthened relationships with its sectors, built productive partnerships with customers, and shaped into a strong, cohesive ATTTO team. All of these achievements position ATTTO well to move forward and deliver even greater value to our customers and sectors.

Kathy Wolfe has stepped into the role of Chief Executive (Acting), with effect from 3 October 2011. Kathy has broad experience across a variety of senior executive and Board-level roles. She has a detailed understanding of ATTTO and its challenges, and is well respected by all who know her.

It is an uncertain time for the tertiary education sector, but Kathy has the skills needed to lead ATTTO through this uncertainty. She is ably supported by an experienced and capable senior leadership team, as well as the wider ATTTO team.

I am confident that this organisation will continue to build on the value it delivers and the contribution it makes to the success of its industries and customers.

Ngā mihi nui,
Elizabeth Valentine

Click here to read the statement on our website

Thank you to all of those who submitted nominations for ATTTO's inaugural A+ Trainee and Modern Apprentice of the Year Awards. We were delighted to receive more than 40 top quality nominations.

The awards finalists have now been notified and their nominations have been passed onto the industry associations for judging.

We look forward to announcing the winners at a special awards event in Wellington on Friday 11 November.

With only a few weeks until the general election, now is an important time to remind political leaders of the huge economic importance of New Zealand’s visitor sector.

Tourism touches all regions of New Zealand in some way. It supports jobs in hospitality, retail, transport and aviation – and it brings vibrancy and much-needed infrastructure to our communities. As an industry that pumps $61 million a day into New Zealand’s economy, it is absolutely critical that tourism has support and attention at the highest levels in Government.

The Tourism Industry Association (TIA) recently released its election year priorities – see www.tianz.org.nz/nztourismfuture. These include ensuring tourism has the attention, infrastructure, information and resources it needs to grow and prosper.

TIA’s Tourism Future document acknowledges that people are the industry’s most important asset. Tourism must be promoted as a viable long-term career option in order to attract talented people into the industry.

Read about how ATTTO's work will support achievement of these priorities

A range of user-friendly training manuals is now available to assist people working towards the National Certificate in Museum Practice (Level 4).

Manuals for the following unit standards are available for only $20 each plus GST:

• 20542 – Museum collection management
• 20554 – Museums and responsibilities of the museum sector in Aotearoa New Zealand
• 20548 – Develop a proposal for a museum public programme

Find out more and order your copies online

• ATTTO General Manager Business and Workforce Development, Debbie Martindale, is currently in London representing New Zealand's standard setting bodies at the World Skills 2011 competition and conference.
  
  This year's World Skills competition is expected to be the largest ever, with 1,000 young people from 53 countries competing in 46 trade skill areas.
  
  Debbie will speak this week on an international panel on 'Employer Engagement', part of a Global Skills Marketplace day within the 'Premier Experience' world leaders programme.
  
  Find out more at www.worldskills.org.
   
• In late September ATTTO National Manager Cultural Awareness and Development, Doris Kaua, presented at the Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference 2011. Doris presented to around 300 delegates, from Australia and further afield.
  
  The focus of her presentation was ATTTO's Māori Tourism Strategy, Ko Nga Rereketanga Te Oranga (2009-2012), and its mission to build bridges of understanding between Māori in tourism and the mainstream tourism sector.
  
  John Barrett, ATTTO Board member and director of Kapiti Island Nature Tours & Kapiti Nature Lodge, also spoke at the conference.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) is currently completing a review of industry training, to ensure the industry training system provides value for Government investment.

Over the next month, the MoE will be meeting with a number of employers from various sectors to discuss how they work with industry training organisations (ITOs) and the benefits to their businesses. BusinessNZ and the regional Chambers of Commerce have been seeking interest from their members with regard to participating in these reviews.

ATTTO encourages our customers to get involved in these reviews should the opportunity arise.

The training provided by ITOs remains the most cost effective in New Zealand’s tertiary education sector. The cost for a trainee to complete a qualification through an ITO such as ATTTO is, on average, a quarter of what it would cost through another kind of tertiary provider.

Our qualifications are designed in collaboration with industry, to meet industry needs, and they are delivered on-the-job, meaning training is accessible to employed people and relevant to individual workplaces.

You can find out more about the review on the Industry Training Federation's website.

ATTTO has a number of projects underway to promote tourism, travel, aviation and museums careers and training to school students. Here's a roundup of our current activity:

New Look for NZSkillsConnect
Our careers and training portal www.nzskillsconnect.co.nz has had a makeover. A new-look homepage now makes it easier for students, teachers and career seekers to see what's new on the site and access the information they need.

Take a look at the visual Career Mapper to explore careers and training pathways and check out the inspiring stories of people working in our industries - from celebrity chef Al Brown through to modern apprentices starting their career journeys - in the 'Working in our Industries' section.

Applications Now Open for 2011 Scholarships
ATTTO has four $1,000 scholarships up for grabs for students currently studying tourism, travel, aviation or museums at secondary or tertiary level.

This year we will award two scholarships to ATTTO Gateway students, and two scholarships for other students looking to take their next step in training in our sectors.

Applications are open until 5pm 17 October 2010. Students can apply online via ATTTO’s website.

2011 School Forums
ATTTO is hitting the road again in November for our annual School Forums. This is a chance to update teachers around the country about what's happening in industry training, at ATTTO and within our sectors. 

Around 250 teachers, careers advisors and Gateway coordinators are expected to attend this year's forums in Auckland, Wellington, Rotorua and Christchurch. Find out more on our website.