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The Waihanga Ara Rau Workforce Development Council was disestablished on 31 December 2025. The Energy and Infrastructure Industry Skills Board; Construction and Specialist Trades Industry Skills Board; and Electrotechnology and Information Technology Industry Skills Board now undertake its functions.

Industry engagement

Ahumahi herehere
Meet the

Relationship Managers

GM Strategy & Engagement

Erica Cumming

In addition to leading the Strategy and Engagement team, Erica is actively involved in promoting and supporting women in the trades, particularly in the building and construction sector, and previously...
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Erica Cumming

GM Strategy & Engagement
Relationship Manager

Fiona Street

Fiona’s role is to form strong relationships with the Plumbing, Gasfitting and Drainlaying sector; Finishing Trades; and the Gas Infrastructure sector to identify future industry skills and workforce needs.

Fiona would...

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Fiona Street

Relationship Manager
Pacific Partnerships Manager

Hana Seumanu

Hana's role is to hear the voice of the Pacific community and Pacific business, and she is responsible for operating at a strategic level to prioritise the success of Pacific...
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Hana Seumanu

Pacific Partnerships Manager
Relationship Manager

Kat Ricketts

Katherine (Kat) Ricketts plays a key role in working closely with the Onsite & Offsite Construction and Construction and Infrastructure Services sectors. Her main job is to understand the skills...

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Kat Ricketts

Relationship Manager
Relationship Manager Lead

Lauren Swann

Lauren Swann leads our team of Relationship Managers at Waihanga Ara Rau. With 20 years’ experience in vocational education & training and leading the delivery of many training programmes and teams...

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Lauren Swann

Relationship Manager Lead
Relationship Manager

Sue Hawkins

Sue engages with employers and industry associations in water services and civil infrastructure: drinking water, storm water, waste water, trade waste, water networks (reticulation), bitumen production, road construction and maintenance,...

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Sue Hawkins

Relationship Manager

Build a more skilled workforce

Is your industry experiencing a shortage of skilled candidates coming through from vocational education? Does your industry struggle to hire people? Contact us so we can work with you to ensure that NZQA provides the right qualifications or standards. We can help ensure that the system trains more people with the right skills to meet the needs of your industry.

Meet rapid growth needs

Innovation and change are ongoing, and Aotearoa New Zealand industry needs to keep pace to compete. Rolling out standardised training can help your industry manage rapid growth and the need for swift change. Talk to us to explore how we can work together to create the qualifications that get you access to a workforce trained and ready to go.

Build opportunities in the Māori economy

Are you working in Māori business or in Iwi development? Aotearoa New Zealand has a dynamic and expanding labour force of skilled Māori business owners and assets. Work with us to help realise opportunities and develop the skills, standards and qualifications to support your business, community and iwi aspirations.

Te Ōhanga Māori – The Māori Economy 2018 report.