What is the Seafood ITO?
An industry training organisation helping seafood industry employees and employers plan for a better future.
The Seafood ITO is the Industry Training Organisation (ITO) for New Zealand's seafood industry. It aims to help seafood industry employees and their employers get the most out of training opportunities and approaches in what is a key industry for the New Zealand economy.
The Seafood ITO is committed to setting a high standard for seafood industry skill development and ensuring trainees are given every opportunity to meet the skills required by industry. Policies within the Seafood ITO's quality management system ensure this high standard is met and maintained.
Seafood ITO charter 26kB
What does the Seafood ITO do?
The Seafood ITO is the link between the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) and the seafood industry. It makes sure that funding provided by the Government for industry training is used effectively in the seafood sector. The Seafood ITO receives the bulk of its funding from the Tertiary Education Commission and some funding from the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council.
The key to the Seafood ITO's on-going success is its ability to develop training pathways and qualifications that respond to industry demand.
Trainees benefit by getting the right training to enable them to do their job well; and they receive nationally recognised qualifications in the process.
Employers benefit too by getting appropriate industry training for their staff - in-house, in the workplace or at a training establishment - and with all the support they need to achieve it. This might include "training for trainers" and the provision of workplace assessors.
The Seafood ITO role
The Seafood ITO works hard to provide a wide range of services to trainees, trainers and employers. The Seafood ITO can:
- Tailor a training programme that complements a seafood organisaton's business plan or an employee's personal goals
- Provide assistance for accessing a huge range of unit standards-based training that matches individual or team needs
- Facilitate on-the-job training and assessment
- Subsidise training to keep costs to a minimum.
To achieve this the Seafood ITO will:
- Talk to employers about the sort of training their employees need
- Match training providers with trainees
- Support and advise workplace trainers and assessors.
A Sector approach
The Seafood ITO divides its work into five seafood industry sectors and has a Sector Manager for each. This means there is always an expert on hand to help you with questions about training in your part of the industry. The five sectors are:
- Aquaculture
- Fishing and Vessel operations
- Wholesale and retail
- Seafood processing
- Seafood Maori
You can talk to a Sector Manager by phone or email, or ask them to visit you in your workplace to talk about your training needs.
Pointing you in the right direction
If you are visiting these pages as a person employed in the seafood industry, or as an employer, there are a number of resources available here at your fingertips to help you plan your training needs.
If you want to know more about why you should train and how to get started, see Train for Success.
If you are an employer and want some quick pointers on what Seafood ITO can do to help you train your staff, see Train for success and Find resources.
Both employees and employers can browse the New Zealand Qualifications Authority qualification descriptions, including their unit standard components, in Qualifications.
And if you want to talk to someone about your specific needs, contact the appropriate Sector Manager.