ATTTO works to support New Zealand’s Approved Destination Status (ADS) agreement with China

China is recognised as New Zealand’s fastest growing inbound tourism market, constituting our fourth most significant market by tourism arrivals. Chinese visitor numbers and their associated expenditure in New Zealand is forecast to double by the year 2012.

However, research tells us that satisfaction among Chinese visitors is lower than other groups of visitors. In the past, problems have been experienced with low quality tours with little or no tourism activities, misrepresentation of tour itineraries, over-reliance on commission-based shopping and inexperienced tour guides.

One way that visitor satisfaction and quality is being improved, is through the China Group Tour ADS system.

Managed by Tourism New Zealand, the ADS system means that New Zealand-based Chinese Tour Operators can be monitored and approved, ensuring that they meet 'fit and proper person' requirements and can demonstrate compliance with a specific Code of Conduct. 

The role of ATTTO in the ADS system

To comply with the Code of Conduct, all guides involved in ADS Group Tours are required to have completed the following ATTTO Awards by 01 December 2008:

- Tour Attraction Guiding Award
- Tour Excursion Guiding Award

To date, ATTTO have 82 guides registered for Attraction Guiding Award training, with completion due by 31 August 2008.

Resources have also been developed by ATTTO in an effort to help trainees successfully complete their requirements. “We have worked hard to provide an award that is relevant and provides an engaging learning experience through a combination of workshops and workbooks,” says Brenda Christie, General Manager of Service Delivery at ATTTO.

Guides on ADS Group Tours must complete and be assessed on the associated workbook, and then be assessed ‘on tour’ to meet the requirements of the Award.

“We run workshops in an effort to help trainees complete their workbooks in a supportive and interactive environment. A facilitator is available with the experience, skills and knowledge to make the process easier for trainees,” explains Christie.

“We are also intending to run personal coaching sessions at our new Auckland office to assist Auckland-based guides and to increase the qualification completion rates for this particular project. Dates for this will be released soon.”

“We are committed to ensuring that we play our part in improving the quality of the visitor experience for this important group. Our qualifications, resources and workshops are great examples of how ATTTO is working together with the New Zealand tourism industry to help raise the bar on the visitor experience.”



Tour guide Tony Chao being assessed on tour

China-New Zealand qualification recognition

 
As well as one of our biggest tourism markets, China is also New Zealand’s largest source of international students.

A world-first qualifications cooperation clause in the China-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement means that the two countries will be working together to ‘explore possibilities for mutual recognition of respective vocational qualifications’.

This recognition will help to promote New Zealand’s qualifications internationally, and formally recognises the country as an important provider of quality education.

“This is a great opportunity to put New Zealand qualifications on the world map,” says Elizabeth Valentine, Chief Executive of  ATTTO. “It provides us with a practical ability to help more people involved in the visitor experience to deliver on our 100% Pure, unique New Zealand tourism experience,“ says Valentine.
 
Important steps have already been made in this area, with NZQA recently signing an agreement with a specialised agency responsible for verifying degrees in China, the Chinese Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Centre (CDGDC).

The agreement means that Chinese students will have more opportunity to have qualifications they have earned at home recognised in New Zealand, with a main aim of the agreement being to clarify qualifications recognition to make processing applications more efficient.

Want more information?
For more details on ADS requirements, please contact Belinda Jorgensen on 04 815 9815.

Chief Executive Elizabeth Valentine has formally welcomed Mrs. Doris Kaua to the new role of National Manager, Cultural Awareness and Development.

“The appointment of Doris to the team demonstrates the important emphasis we are placing on the cultural role at ATTTO,” says Valentine. “Doris is a highly experienced and well-respected member of the New Zealand Maori community and we are delighted to have a person of her calibre on board.”

Doris’ tribal affiliations are Te Atihaunui a Paparangi and Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa. She joins ATTTO having spent the last 3 years as Director of Maori Development at Family Planning. Prior to that she has worked across a variety of public service organisations, in the private sector, the hotel and hospitality business industry and the community services sector. She comes to us with a BA in political science and public administration and a Masters in Public Policy degree and has a well-rounded understanding of academic, bureaucratic and business processes as well as a solid understanding and experience of working with Maori service providers/communities.

A key function of the Cultural Awareness and Development role is to develop and implement the initiatives of the ATTTO Cultural Strategy including the uptake and support of Maori Tourism-related education and training.

The role will also involve the review and promotion of the Pasifika Strategy and involves working with industry and communities to develop plans for further increasing participation and skill levels of Maori and Pacific peoples in the aviation, tourism, travel and museums sectors.

Mrs Kaua says she is excited by the opportunity to expand her skills and knowledge  in the industry training sector and to develop new relationships especially with the Pacific peoples.

“ My greatest passion is to empower, to motivate and to mobilise others by minimising the barriers and providing them with opportunities so that they can participate fully and unfold their own unique potential.”

“I am looking forward to getting on with the job which will mean getting to know ATTTO, my new role and where I can make the greatest and most effective impact.”
 
“ATTTO is committed to leading our cultural strategy forward and making sure we are well positioned to support the significant growth in Maori Tourism, the rising appreciation of culture and heritage and the important associated rise of pride in our future as Aotearoa, New Zealand,” says Valentine. “The appointment of this role means that we are well placed to respond to and embrace the opportunities ahead.”

National Manager, Cultural Awarness and Development 
Doris Kaua, and ATTTO Chief Executive Elizabeth Valentine.

As a 9 year old girl visiting the UK for the first time, Maxine Lee got her first taste of travel and a passion was born. “I knew since that trip that I wanted to do something with travel,” says Maxine, now 37 and living in Nelson. “I was hooked. I would always have my nose in travel books, dreaming about places I could visit when I grew up.”

When she finished school, Maxine bid farewell to the sunny shores of Nelson to explore Europe for 18 months. Upon returning to New Zealand, she decided to turn her love for travel and passion for people into a career, and became a flight attendant.

“It was the perfect fit between travel and customer service. I loved the opportunity to meet a fresh set of faces every hour. Each flight gave you a new group of people to interact with. It was exciting to travel so often, and was so different from any other job,” says Maxine.   

Maxine was a flight attendant for two years before falling pregnant with her first child, Lachlan, at age 23. This welcomed news meant trading the job of high flyer for a new role: stay at home mum. She gave birth to her second boy, Austen, almost two years later.

Going back to work as an airline reservation sales consultant when her sons were 3 and 1, Maxine quickly learned that it was too early to be working full time again. “It was a challenging time,” she confesses. “I had moved to a new city and didn’t have the support of family and friends around me. Along with my then husband, I was caring for two boys under the age of three and so I just had to reconsider what would work best for all of us.”

Determined to make the most of her time at home, she decided to continue her learning through studying for a Diploma in Travel, and soon returned to flight attending as a casual employee at first. “The flexibility of the travel industry meant that I had some choice over the hours that I worked. If extra shifts were available, I had the opportunity to pick them up. It was perfect for my situation.”

“The transition between raising a young family and returning to work isn’t easy,” she concedes. “But you have to keep working towards your dreams. If your children see you working hard and achieving, you are setting the example for them to set their sights high too.”

In her new role of single mother, Maxine continued to fly full time for over 7 years, during which time she was able to purchase her first home to renovate. But the motivated mum soon found herself itching for a new challenge.

“Working as a flight attendant was wonderful, but after a while I felt I needed a change, a new direction. I sold my house, resigned from my job, and moved back to my home town to study full time. I have always wanted to do my own thing, build something of my own.”

“My wonderful new partner is a builder and part owns a family farm in a beautiful setting. It is surrounded by native gullies with deer and cattle on the hills, and together we have an idea to build cosy holiday cottages and host tourists around the property. We would have them participate in fishing and farming and make it something really unique.”

To help make this dream a reality, Maxine is currently enrolled in a Diploma in Tourism Management, with the aim of gaining more skills in marketing and management.

“I found that the skills I already had from travel; a passion for meeting people, patience and experience with different cultures, easily transfers to the tourism industry. I love the challenge of learning how tourism businesses operate and the environmental aspects of tourist visitation in New Zealand. This is the sort of knowledge I can use to help build my own business.”

Maxine is now one step closer to her dream, being a recent recipient of a 2008 Aviation, Tourism and Travel Organisation (ATTTO) Scholarship, receiving $3,000 towards study costs.

The Scholarships support people of all ages in their career development, and reward role models like Maxine who are determined to find their ideal career path and put in the hard work to succeed.

“I feel very honoured to receive this award,” says Maxine. “Finances can be restricted when you are studying with kids, so it will certainly help.”

With a new baby girl due in September, there are no signs of Maxine slowing down.

“It’s certainly a juggling act, but it is possible to manage work, family and study all at the same time. It’s about having a balance, and figuring out what works for you,” she says.

Scholarship presentation, Thursday 29 May, 2008.
L - R: Maxine Lee's son Austen, 2008 Tourism Scholarship winner Maxine Lee and course coordinator and tutor Karina Marwick.

< Back to Profiles and Articles page

Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Valentine has recently welcomed Mr. Willie Toelau to the role of ATTTO Schools Liaison Officer.

“The appointment of Willie to the team is indicative of ATTTO’s commitment to strengthening our service provision and product delivery in this important market,” says Valentine. 

“Our Schools Liaisons play a critical role in attracting potential trainees into our industries. Building capacity in this area means we are increasingly becoming better placed to respond to up-coming government initiatives such as Schools Plus. The strategy we’ll progressively put in place with schools will support young people and their parents in choosing careers in aviation, tourism, travel and museums. As early as year 10 people need to start thinking about what subjects to take in relation to a career,” she says.

Willie joins the team alongside existing Schools Liaison Roger Brittain.

“With both Roger and Willie out talking to young people and their careers advisors, and ATTTO’s drive to provide much better materials for programmes such as Gateway, we’re gearing up to really make a difference. We want to help influence both the quality and number of young people interested in careers in the sectors we represent.”

Brittain believes the appointment will immediately lift the level of support ATTTO is able to offer schools. “We have a wealth of opportunities and initiatives to offer students in the coming year,” he says. “Having someone on board with Willie’s experience means the role of Schools Liaison can now be expanded both geographically and in the level of services we can offer schools.”

Willie spent the past year working as a Schools and Employment Advisor at Tools4Work. Prior to this he spent 12 years managing recruitment companies which looked after a variety of trades people.

“In my recruitment role we used to look overseas to find the trades people we needed to fill the skills gaps in New Zealand,” explains Toelau. “The children we have in our own backyard are the ones we should be looking at training and developing.”

A key function of the Schools Liaison role is to educate the next generation of New Zealand’s workforce on their career options and support them in creating a suitable study pathway to get where they want to be.

“I love working with youth and ATTTO has a huge range of career paths to offer students. I am looking forward to being able to raise awareness of exactly what is available and helping students to get a realistic idea of what a career in these industries could offer them.”


Willie Toelau

For more information on how our Schools Liaisons can support you, contact:

Willie Toelau
Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Rotorua, Taupo, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, East Cape.
027 282 5103

Roger Brittain
Taranaki, Manawatu, Wairarapa, Wellington, Nelson/Marlborough, Canterbury, West Coast, Otago.
027 488 5087

The National Certificate in Tourism (Core Skills) (Level 3) [Ref: 0876] has been recommended for registration by NZQA and will appear on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) next month (early July).  This means any new candidates will now be signed up to the latest version, being version 4.  Candidates signed up to version 3 can transfer to the new version if they wish, however version 3 is still valid until December 2009. 

For further information please contact your Industry Training Advisor.

The 2008 Industry Training at Work Day, held on 1 May 2008, was an opportunity for Air New Zealand Aircraft Maintenance Services at Christchurch Airport and the Christchurch Engine Centre to represent the New Zealand aviation community in promoting industry training. 

The event was a fantastic opportunity  to promote a greater understanding of the challenges and issues that are faced industry-wide, and raise the profile of industry training and it’s importance in recruitment and retention.

An initiative of the Industry Training Federation (ITF), Industry Training at Work Day was an opportunity for workplaces nation-wide to promote the benefits of industry training to key influencers and decision makers, including politicians and business and community leaders. 

Mr Colin King, Associate Spokesperson for Education (Trade Training), visited the Christchurch aviation workplaces to learn first hand about the training delivered, and the initiatives undertaken to address the skill and staff shortages that are currently being faced by the industry.

“I was blown away to hear about the difficulties that aviation businesses have in attracting school leavers”, said Mr King. “Aviation has so many positives, but the awareness of it as a career in schools is simply not where it should be. There are outstanding opportunities in this sector that are not as well known as they could be. We need to be focusing on raising awareness of aviation career pathways for interested students.” 

Chris Brooks, Training Team Leader at Christchurch Engine Centre, agrees that awareness of aviation as a career needs to be improved.

“We are finding this out as we approach schools and the community,” he comments. “The Engine Centre is a significant employer in Christchurch with the opportunity to support 20 apprentices each year.  It is important that Christchurch and Government know who we are and the role we play within the community.”

Ian Parkes, Communications Manager for Air New Zealand Aircraft Maintenance Services, believes awareness in schools is an issue for several reasons.

“In the past, most schools used to have a range of technical courses and they would steer good people towards engineering.  Some schools are great but in general there is less of a hands on approach now, even in technical subjects. The end result is that many students today have just not discovered the joy of using their brains and their hands, so they are not looking for careers in that direction. We are certainly missing out on some people who would be brilliant in aviation.”

"The aviation industry demands high calibre people in all fields of operation,” he says. “That is especially true in the engineering trades where it takes years to acquire the skills and experience needed for the great responsibility they carry. It is important to us that the training industry and government understand our needs, our successes and our challenges."

Find out how your workplace can become involved in the new ATTTO initiative aimed at increasing the number of young people in Aviation

Find out more about the benefits of industry training

                
Air New Zealand Aircraft Maintenance, Christchurch                                 
MP Mr Colin King, Trainer and Trainee Mentor at Air NZ Alan McDonnell, and First year Aeronautical Engineering Trainee Joshua Wieland.  

Christchurch Engine Centre                             
MP Mr Colin King, with graduates of the National Certificate in Aeronautical Engineering Level 4 (power plant strand) Simon Sproull and Nicole Bulford.

< Back to Profiles and Articles

ATTTO invites those who have completed the Customer Service Award to attend the New Zealand Tourism Course in Rotorua.

The New Zealand Tourism Course provides a pathway for people who have completed the Customer Service Award to achieve a National Certificate in Tourism (Core Skills) (Level 3).

If you have already achieved the Customer Service Award, successfully completing this workshop and the workbook for Unit 18238 means completion of the National Certificate.

The workshops provide the generic skills required for working within the tourism and travel industries. Participants will be able to increase their customer service skills through gaining knowledge and a better understanding of the New Zealand tourism industry, including specific knowledge of tourism regions and New Zealand as a destination.

Where?
The 2 day workshops are held on a regular basis in Rotorua.

Who should attend?
This programme is suitable for people currently working within tourism, or interested in a career within tourism and travel.

What is the cost?
$300 + GST per person. This cost includes training, workbook and assessment. Subsidies are also available from ATTTO.

Which Units are covered?
18228     Provide information about specified regions in New Zealand
18212     Demonstrate knowledge of New Zealand as a tourist destination
5562       Present the characteristics of New Zealand as a visitor destination
20489     Describe the legal responsibilities of employees in the tourism and travel industry

Want to register?
Contact Burnadette Payne on 07 362 4972 or email to register or obtain further information.