Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) chief executive Warwick Quinn has been appointed New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (NZIST) deputy chief executive, employer journey and experience.
Quinn will take up the new role in November 2020.
“While we are disappointed that Warwick is moving on from BCITO, we look forward to continuing to work closely with him in his new capacity,” BCITO chair Mike King says.
“Warwick’s deep knowledge of vocational education and on-job learning, along with his energy and huge drive to make it the best it can be, have contributed immensely to the BCITO’s success, and will continue to be of enormous value to the industry.”
In accepting the role, Quinn says vocational education is something he cares passionately about, and it was an opportunity he could not refuse.
“At the BCITO we’ve developed a robust on-job training system that works efficiently and is tailored to the needs of the individual industry sectors under our coverage,” Quinn says.
“I look forward to continuing to work closely with employers across a range of sectors to ensure we deliver great training outcomes for New Zealand.”
King says it has never been more important to have a strong, unified and sustainable system for vocational education.
“We need to do everything we can to retain apprentices and trainees in the system so we don’t waste their learning, and we have a capable workforce ready to support the recovery.”
The BCITO has just over 14,000 active trainees and apprentices. Apprenticeship sign-ups reached an all-time high in July, and this trend has continued into August.
Last year, construction was New Zealand’s third largest sector, directly contributing $19 billion to the country’s GDP.
King says the BCITO has a strong leadership team in place.
“I have complete faith and confidence in the BCITO leadership team. They are well-positioned to pick up from Warwick in the interim and lead BCITO forward as we move into the new RoVE environment,” he says.
