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The New Zealand Learning Representatives Project: an assessment of the pilot years

In 2005 the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, the central organisation of unions in New Zealand, initiated a Learning Representatives Project based on the British model. The Government approved an eight-month programme to be funded through its Tertiary Education Commission to ‘scope the project’. Work began not just on scoping, but on building support from unions and industry for the project. Initial contacts were made with industry, unions affirmed their support, training material was developed, provision was made for the recognition of the training of representatives by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and a number of human resources and training and development staff from key companies promised their support: a matter of note given later difficulties experienced by the project team in achieving the same level of support from more senior management. But it was early days and support from practitioners was encouraging. The scoping phase was sufficient to indicate to government that the project was viable. The next step was a two-year pilot programme that was launched in July 2005 by the Minister of Education at a function at parliament with special guest Judith Swift from the British union learning representative programme. Although still at an exploratory stage, the project was expected to be running effectively in a selection of enterprises and industries by June 2007. That target was achieved in terms of number or representatives and number of worksites but in no way was the project embedded in the work practices of participating companies or even in the organising plans of unions. That now is the task of the