The Christchurch Earthquake: Challenges and Responses

At one level Innovating New Zealand’s rationale is to foster a closer commercial relationship between polytechnics and industry. This hinges on the question of relevance: in what ways do companies want to actively engage with polytechnics to improve their performance and profitability.  The same question is also fundamental to polytechnics’ core business. Unless pedagogical practice — be it curricula, teaching practice or delivery modes —is closely aligned to what industry needs, the institutions are failing in their function as this country’s leading provider of vocational training. Graduates entering the workforce need to be fit for purpose with training not just to generic qualifications but business graduates who understand how businesses actually operate, and engineering or plumbing graduates who have a working knowledge of the latest technologies and practices. Relevant curricula demonstrate to business the polytechnics’ capability to deliver on a wider commercial proposition.

Currently throughout New Zealand polytechnics offer a range of services targeting companies.  At Otago Polytechnic the Institute of Design has six units including a product development centre focusing on interactive design, strategic design and sustainable design. It also provides staff training and consultancy through its different schools, and from its Cromwell campus its Centre for Sustainable Practice has become the place to go to for information and expertise on sustainable development for the region. WelTec also has product development facilities at its Centre of Smart Product, and offers customized training to companies in workplace literacy and numeracy, line management and lean manufacturing.  Similarly, the Manukau Institute of Technology offers over 130 different fee-based short courses and customized training to companies; its Maintenance and Reliability Centre has a reputation as the preeminent provider of training to machine operators on such issues as root cause analysis, diagnostic testing, lubrication and electrical maintenance.  At Wintec, Learning Works provides expertise in the design and delivery of in-house training materials for organisations with its core differentiator built around blended delivery modes and distance learning via IT applications. Most polytechnics have intern, co-operative education, or cadetship programmes that meet either companies’ short-term operational capacity needs, or help firms develop better processes or provide them with greater clarity in their planning.

The Christchurch earthquake is a game-changer that could well redefine the polytechnic sector’s basic relationship with industry. Such has been the impact of the disaster on Christchurch’s workforce and its implications for its development.  

Hardest hit after the February earthquake has been the service sector — hospitality, retail, tourism, financial and legal services, real estate, etc. It is not just those businesses in the 30-50% of buildings either destroyed or demolished within the CBD that are affected; much of the suburban pattern of Christchurch was laid out at the turn of the twentieth century, and many of these retail centres along arterial routes have not survived.  Equally affected have been the suburban malls.  Although the national chains will have the resources and insurance cover to weather the disruption, many SMEs face the distinct prospect of extinction. Those that can will either relocate or rebuild, retaining key staff until they are again operating, making other staff redundant. Some will need to change their business model, mix and market segments, shedding staff in the process. Others will simply walk away. The flow-on directly affects their suppliers.

Treasury's early estimate of the damage to buildings and infrastructure of $15 billion (7- 8 % of GDP) does not take into account the likely economic impact of business disruption with some commentators estimating an eventual total cost of $30 billion.

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake both the University of Canterbury and CPIT also faced disruption and damage to their buildings and capital assets. Canterbury University is currently building an Oval Village of 57 temporary buildings to house lecture theatres, offices and a café on what used to be its athletics park.  CPIT’s main campus, which was in the Red Zone, had to be evacuated but within three weeks its displaced schools housed temporarily in its Sullivan Ave Campus, at Bishopdale and at Lincoln University were back teaching courses to classes.

Apart from such immediate dislocation, a medium-term challenge to both institutions lies with their business model, and a collapse in EFTS (Equivalent Full-Time Student) funding resulting from students either leaving the region or choosing not to be educated in it. The high-yielding international market has all but disappeared and along with it a slew of PTOs. At the same time there will be a likely domestic migration out of the region of students pursuing disciplines in sectors that realistically there will be little demand from in the next three years.  Although TEC funding is assured to the end of this year, the situation in 2012 is far from certain.   

An early response to this problem is suggested by the University of Canterbury’s most recent student enrolment campaign. Referencing the activities of the Student Army and even Obama’s presidential campaign, it is also reminiscent of the State Department’s World War II “Rosie the Riveter” campaign as it exhorts to students to a greater public good: U CAN Make a Difference.   Yet if the message is simple — that in furthering your own education you can also contribute to the recovery of Christchurch — the corollary is that the institution needs to deliver on the message’s promise and satisfy two separate needs: that of students seeking employment and of industry having to fill its operational capacity needs. Not every student wants to be an engineer or architect.

For Phil Agnew, Manager of Business Development at CPIT, the most pressing challenge is ensuring what CPIT does is aligned with what industry needs.  “Capability is not the issue: the big issue is what is the right approach?  

“The window for decision-making is probably only six months since many of the issues being addressed now will have a long lead time – in particular in terms of workforce development in the vertical (building) and horizontal (services) construction sectors. How does the community retool itself for the next 5-7 years?  But after that, what then? The consensus is that Christchurch needs to find its own solutions; they cannot be delivered or imposed from Wellington or Auckland.”

To give but one example of the scale of the task ahead: it currently takes a Fulton Hogan crew of nine 13 weeks to lay one kilometre of roading from the sub base once services have been laid. There is over 600 kilometres of roads within Christchurch that require remediation.

One area that CPIT will have a lead role is in skills training as the workforce is reconfigured in anticipation of the demand from the construction sector. Since the February earthquake the Tertiary Education Commission has been working with other Government departments (soon to be amalgamated into CERA) and local agencies — including the Canterbury Development Corporation and Christchurch Employers’ Chamber of Commerce — to revise workforce planning and map available provision and capacity from tertiary education institutions, private training establishments, and industry training organisations. This anticipates a shift from other disciplines into trades that will now be in higher demand with the Government providing increased places for trades training as required.

Yet it is not simply a matter of business as usual and providing additional places.  Rather than teaching to generic qualifications, a more market-driven response will be needed to cater to anticipated workforce needs for industries at specific stages of the recovery. Apprenticeship and training programmes are being re-evaluated to see whether, for example, three-year apprenticeships can be contracted to 12 months or whether 12 month courses can be reduced to 12 weeks so that students can enter the workforce sooner. If this happens delivery modes would need to be adapted to provide a more flexible provision of training for students in the workplace with an emphasis on online distance learning.  More supervisory roles would be needed to oversee the work being done by students in the workplace. What support will be needed for companies taking on more apprentices?

One principle that keeps recurring is that of “continuous up-skilling” of those already in the workforce, a concept that owes more to the Australian TAFE system than it does to what is currently happening in New Zealand.  To take as an example a builder or plumber who currently has a crew of four and possibly an apprentice. As their company’s workload and staffing increases, what new skills will they need— whether it is project or business management, new methods or practices? Similarly as larger companies expand they will require more supervisory, line management and middle management positions, and will most likely need to look outside the construction sector to recruit.  The assessment of prior learning (APL) will be needed to recognize and up-skill those from displaced sectors who have skill sets that can be transferred to the construction sector.

Similar tools will be needed to address the organizational capabilities of companies. As firms expand or change their business mix or model, cracks will appear in their staffing requirements.  Both Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and APL could become components for whole-of-enterprise workforce development initiatives and customized training products. If what is happening in Australia is any indication, training could be customized to the specific requirements of each company with flexible delivery options and a step-by-step process that includes a TNA, APL, gap training, and job modeling with specific modules, for example, in change management and teamwork, continuous improvement systems, value stream mapping, Just in Time, rapid changeover procedures, productive maintenance, quality management, etc.

These days in Christchurch the one constant people and organisations daily face is change and the need to adapt. Through the recovery training organisations such as CPIT are likely to develop more permeable, responsive relationships with their community, industry partners and companies as the distinctions between training people about to enter the workforce and training those already in the workforce become blurred.  If it is moot how much impact what is happening in Christchurch will have on the polytechnic sector throughout the country, nevertheless the polytechnic sector already has the resources, expertise and skill base to respond to these issues.