Newsletter: June 2021

Hospo employee crisis & NZQA changes 

This week, the Restaurant Association of New Zealand will launch a campaign to draw attention to the crisis that many employers are facing through a lack of staff to effectively operate their businesses. Every week, at NZSFW, we are fielding numerous calls from restaurants, cafes, bakeries, bars, hotels for our current students and graduates to fill vacancies in their over-stretched workforce. There are many, many jobs but not enough potential employees.

But this subject is more complicated. In Education too, we are being hit by the reluctance of the Government to support visas for International Students. These same students, who are able to work 20 hours a week, provide many employers with essential casual staff. Looking around and talking to my colleagues in schools, colleges and universities, there is a deep feeling of gloom, with no comfort from a respite to the Government's 'RESET" policies even for 2022. This continuing inability to enrol International Students will have the flow-on effect of job losses for academics and teachers as well as support staff like student counsellors and administrators. We can sense this gloom in Central Auckland, and the plight of Queen Street retailers is also exacerbated by the empty student apartments that in the past were the thriving with residents. 

And there is more. Recently NZQA announced its view that all qualifications should be reviewed and a National Curriculum for Vocational education  be established with unit standards replaced with "skill" standards. These are huge changes and, from my perspective, the new skill standards will probably devolve down to an edit of the current unit standards, and all of this change having enormous costs in time, re-work, compliance and complexity.

I am not sure how the national curriculum for bartending or barista skills will work while I completely accept that it works for more precise training such as  electricians and plumbers. NZQA are going through a public consultation round which closes on June 16. Click here to find out more about NZQA plans.

Click here to find out more about Restaurant New Zealand "Reset" campaign.

Sincerely,

Kingsley’s Blind Wine Tasting Practice Packs

Kingsley Wood from First Glass, Takapuna has prepared two tasting sets for you and your friends to practice with

• Wine Options Practice Pack Premium Wines - $200
• Wine Options Practice Pack Standard Wines - $160

Both packs include 8 bottles of wine AND a series of questions to challenge your taste buds. You can order the Practice Packs online through First Glass and they will couriered to your home.

Special note: If you want to Practice, don't open the pack yourself!  Find a friend who can open the wines and ask the questions so you and your team are completely in the blind. 

Entrée - Baked Fish Nicosia, Main - Prawn, cherry and tomato Fettucine and Panna Cotta Caremellata for dessert. 

Graduation Day for our Advanced & Diploma Chefs

Recently, we were very happy to host a graduation luncheon for the students, families and friends of the Advanced Level 4 programme and Level 5 Diploma Chefs

Okains Bay Museum

A recent visit to the Okains Bay Museum, on Banks Peninsula reminded me of the unique collection of taonga Māori or treasures that are on display. I am particularly interested in traditional cooking methods, technology and ingredients.

There are Patu and Wahaika, weapons made from the jaw bones of sperm whales or finely carved wood. A mortar and pestle fashioned from local volcanic rock. Intricate fish hooks and elaborate āruke koura (crayfish pots) and hīnaki (eel traps). Carved wooden nose flutes for making music.

Read the full story here. 

Certificate in New Zealand Wine Micro-Credential