Chairman’s Report – Year Ending 31 December 2009

Each year has its challenges and 2009 was no exception.

TESSO continued to respond to requests and suggestions from members that were aimed at ensuring that the skills and educational needs of the telecommunications industry were being addressed.  TESSO also continued to promote industry training by working closely with ETITO and other organisations.

Board Membership

There were some changes to the Board during 2009.  Early in the year Kirsten Lloyd from Chorus resigned and was replaced by Mike Hansen.  Changed personal employment circumstances resulted in resignations from Jason Gilmore representing Alcatel-Lucent, Rex Buckley representing 3M and Mike Stiekema representing Kordia.  The Board welcomed new representative members Sid Giliomee from Alcatel-Lucent and Joe Boyle from 3M.  The Board anticipates a new member to be appointed to represent Kordia in the New Year.  The Board expressed its appreciation for the contributions from the departing members and wished them well for the future.

TESSO is delighted that the Radio Frequency Users Association of New Zealand has become a member of TESSO and the Board welcomed the RFUANZ’s Bob McCrae as a visitor at its December meeting.

Future of Telecommunications Industry Training

For some time the Board has recognised the challenges faced by the industry and has been engaging with ETITO to air concerns and to find solutions.  A particular challenge is to find a way of engaging with the movers and shakers of the industry.  The newly formed Telecommunication Industry Group (TIG) is a potential vehicle and this will be explored during 2010.

There has been some concern expressed around the TESSO Board table, and represented to ETITO, that the current qualifications, and, more particularly the qualification pathways, are not meeting the industry’s needs.  It would appear that the telecommunications industry is not alone as similar concerns were aired at a forum organised and facilitated by the Industry Training Federation this month.  The government is pushing to eliminate duplication and to simplify the qualification system and the indications are that change will be occurring sooner rather than later.  A case of watch this space!

 Relationship with ETITO

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between TESSO and ETITO that recognises the important roles both organisations play.  ETITO is responsible for the telecommunications unit standards and qualifications, and a raft of other things, and TESSO provides a coherent industry voice.  Both organisations are committed to fostering a relationship that supports and encourages education and training for our industry.

I, on behalf of TESSO, had several opportunities to meet with the CEO of ETITO, and the ETITO Board, and to engage in conversations about the industry and I appreciated each opportunity.  There is no doubt the ETITO is right behind the industry and I am confident their strategic planning is taking into account the feedback we have provided.  I look forward to further positive engagement during 2010.

Membership NZICT Group

TESSO has joined the newly formed NZICT Group (www.nzict.org.nz).  Brett O’Riley, the CEO of NZICT Group, presented to the TESSO Board at its August meeting.  NZICT has a number of strategic focuses, one of which is Education and Skills.  NZICT’s mission statement says “Representing New Zealand’s ICT industry, we will take leadership by collaborating with business, aligned associations, communities and Government to promote the use of ICT to enhance our country’s competitiveness for the betterment of all New Zealanders, and growth of ICT industry.”

NZICT Group has a very broad membership base, and has a strong relationship with the government.  The TESSO Board believes membership of NZICT will be mutually beneficial and will provide opportunities to engage with other industry representatives, and to receive regular communications on activity within the sector.

Demand for Skilled Telecommunications Technicians

The demand for skilled workers is only going to increase.  In both New Zealand and Australia the governments are injecting substantial capital to ensure that most people in their respective countries have access to fast broadband services.  There is concern that skilled technicians will be recruited from New Zealand to fill gaps in Australia further adding to the pressure to attract new people into the industry.

Appreciation

I would like to express my appreciation to all TESSO Board members, and to Chris Jones, the Executive Officer, for the work completed this year.  I am sure we are all looking forward to a break before coming back with renewed vigour in 2010.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Ron Stevens

TESSO Chair

9 December 2009

Big Changes in Engineering Education (courtesy IPENZ)

TESSO Web news update October 2009

At the TESSO Management Board meeting of 7 October the Board was pleased to receive advice from ETITO that they are supporting TESSO to carry out work on the two Unit Standards from the Customer Access Network strand of the Level 3 Telecommunications Certificate to include enhanced content on optical fibre cables and cabling.  ETITO also advised that the proposed stage 2 works to enhance the fibre content of other level 3 and 4 strands will be incorporated into the ETITO 2010 activity plan.

The Board was pleased to approve an application for Associate membership of TESSO from the Radio Frequency Users Association of New Zealand (RFUANZ). The Board is looking forward to identifying common areas of interest which may lead to a mutual programme of activity and opportunities for the respective organisations to work together.

The Board agreed to join the newly formed New Zealand Information and Communications Technologies (NZICT) Group as a General Member categorised as a “Community of Interest”.  This will allow both organisations to meet the objectives of their respective constitutions, while identifying common areas of interest and development, which may lead to a mutual programme of activity.

The Board was very disappointed at the meeting to receive a letter of resignation from Mike Stiekema, due to his departure from Kordia, and noted that Mike’s informed counsel at Board meetings and his very significant contributions to TESSO’s activities would be sadly missed.

The next meeting of the TESSO Board is programmed for Wednesday 2 December 2009.If you want to find out more about TESSO’s activities, or would like to help, get in touch by contacting us by:

phone: +64 4 476 9928
mobile: +64 21 658 953
fax: +64 4 476 9043
email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

TESSO Web news update September 2009

TESSO re-drafted two Unit Standards from the Customer Access Network strand of the Level 3 Telecommunications Certificate to include enhanced content on optical fibre cables and cabling. This has been necessitated by the need to keep apace with the increased penetration of optical fibre into the access network and into customer premises.

TESSO is currently undertaking a critical review of the Health and Safety components of the Telecommunications Certificates. Knowing how to work safely is so important and TESSO is working towards an industry accepted Certificate in Telecommunications Occupational Health and Safety.

In response to the increasingly common practice of Telco’s sharing telecommunications sites TESSO is working on the development of site accreditation and site shutdown processes that are endorsed by all Telco’s in New Zealand.

The Honourable Steven Joyce, Minister of Communications, attended a recent Board meeting and he talked about some of the issues his Government was working on, including the broadband rollout programme. Board members relayed to the Minister their concerns about the current ability of the industry to ensure skilled people would be available when required. Ideas about the future methods of attracting apprentices were discussed, and it was suggested to the Minister that a clear rollout plan would assist industries forward planning.

TESSO is actively engaging with the newly formed New Zealand Information and Communications Technologies (NZICT) Group. Its CEO, Brett O’Riley, attended a Board Meeting and has also met with the Chair of TESSO, Ron Stevens.

TESSO is taking a keen interest in the proposed new "Premises Wiring code of Practice" being sponsored by the Telecommunication Carriers Forum (TCF). TESSO felt the initial draft Code looked promising and TESSO will participate during the public consultation. 

Want to start an apprenticeship and an exciting career in the telecommunications industry? Get on board by 'clicking' here?