Nigel Philpott is in his happy place.
He took up the job of Primary ITO chief executive at the start of October and has since been meeting stakeholders to get a better idea of how the organisation has performed and how it can improve.
That’s included catching up with Meat Industry Association chief executive Tim Ritchie and his DairyNZ counterpart Dr Tim Mackle along with Tertiary Education Commission chief executive Tim Fowler.
And well aware of the need to understand his own organisation he’s also met Primary ITO frontline staff.
Philpott, who has a background in leadership and development of people’s capability, came into the role after working for the Ministry of Education where he was national programme director for a strategic review of the education workforce.
Before that he was chief of staff and chief people officer for the Defence Force, helping the navy, army and air force develop people as a key strategic resource.
There has been a lot of change in education and training over the last decade but Philpott says the Review of Vocational Education (RoVE) announced by the Government earlier this year is a great chance to stop and think about what’s important for learners and employers and what’s needed to create a pipeline of people with the right skills to make the primary sector stronger.
But there’s no need to rush things, he says.
It’s better to take a measured approach.
At the Education Ministry he spent 10 months on the strategic review and says it makes sense to take a similar approach to primary sector training, working out how to best configure the Primary ITO so it can deliver what employers and those doing the training want.
He intends to hold workshops early in the new year to focus on how to create clearer pathways into primary sector vocational education.
Employers are key to making that work.
“We have to be able to get them (trainees) job-ready. And we can’t do that without employers.”
It’s important employers have a say and are listened to as part of the RoVE reforms.
The pathways also have to be attractive to parents because they are often the gatekeepers of their children’s future and need to be confident of easy access to quality training that prepares young people for jobs in a sector that offers good prospects.
His initial focus will be on the Primary ITO business and its 22,000 trainees while also finding ways to increase the increase the size of the pipeline of skilled employees. The ITO needs to be configured to meet that need.
“The demand for training is there but we’re not set up to deliver,” he says.
He will put greater emphasis on modern and innovative ways of delivering training.
And he supports blended learning, a mixture of online and traditional paper-based systems.
He also wants to investigate how to use emerging technology such as augmented reality, connecting people on the same course around the country with headsets so they feel like they are inside a milking or shearing shed as part of their training.
Philpott says he has always been interested in making sure education systems work for everyone.
Traditionally those systems have been designed on a one-size-fits-all approach but that does not work for everyone.
Nobody is a lost cause, he says.
It’s all about getting people engaged.
Philpott says he loves a challenge and sees an opportunity to bring in real and lasting change, to reset the culture of the organisation and work out how it can best serve the primary sector.
It’s incredibly important that it is done with the future in mind because the primary sector is the most important in New Zealand.
Philpott is exceptionally excited about his job.
“What an opportunity to shape an organisation, to build it into an organisation that delivers 21st century learning.”
He freely admits that’s not to be it’s going to be easy because there are challenges to get past.
The biggest of those is the funding model, which, he says, does not work for the primary sector, illustrating that by pointing out polytechnics get about three times the funding for delivering a similar standard to the ITO.
“That has to be sorted out.”
Philpott says he’s a solutions-focussed person.
“I won’t let bureaucrats say no and if they do say no I’ll do all I can to find a way around it.”
The lack of technology in the Primary ITO is another problem he wants to address.
“Everything needs to be available online so people can get access on their phone rather than having them carrying around these great big folders like we’ve had them doing.”
Literacy and numeracy standards also need to be improved and schools have to do better in that area. He’s encouraged by recent Government announcements aimed at addressing that but he expects it will take at least a decade to fix.
The world is changing and training and education have to adapt. Micro-credentials, like the ones launched earlier this year by Primary ITO, are the way of the future.
The role of a university education will decline over time and instead people will build portfolios of courses and experience.
Short courses and specialised, targeted training like the micro-credentials will be an important part of that.
Philpott says it’s important people do the right course, not just any course.
Training providers have traditionally been given money in relation to the number of bums on seats they have and that sends the wrong message.
The focus should instead be on building capability in the right places.
Philpott’s passion is to create opportunity for all people to flourish and be the best they can be. He has been a mentor for the Prince’s Trust – a youth charity that helps young people aged 11-30 get into jobs, education and training, and he is chairman of Birthright Wellington, an organisation that supports and advocates for families led by one person.
Outside of work the father of five has a private pilot’s licence and flies paragliders and paramotors.
He’s confident that by forming partnerships, especially with employers, the Primary ITO can help make industry training fly by providing quality courses that deliver skilled employees employers want.
“That’s how to make it work. We have to do this together.”
