New training programme aims to deliver world class visitor service

22 October 2009

KiaOraMai, Essential Service Skills

A new employee training programme launched in Wellington today will help ensure that people working in the service sector consistently deliver a unique, memorable visitor experience, boosting the economic return New Zealand gets from major events like the Rugby World Cup.

Launched by the Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key, KiaOraMai is a flexible programme designed for entry-level employees working across the service industries, including hospitality, accommodation, travel and transport, tourism events and activities, retail, hairdressing, beauty and spa.

Tourism Industry Association Chief Executive Tim Cossar says the programme meets the industry’s call for a single entry-level standard for employees working directly with visitors and customers in the service sector. It features a mix of off and on the job training and is linked to unit standards on the National Qualifications Framework, offering employees a career path and a starting place for further training.

“The tourism industry and wider services sector are major contributors to the New Zealand economy and people are the sector’s major asset,” says Mr Cossar.

“Having well trained, professional staff with the right skills and attitude is integral to delivering a consistent and outstanding New Zealand visitor experience. KiaOraMai will increase the economic benefits of major events such as Rugby World Cup 2011, and establish a legacy that will provide lasting benefits to the economy.”

The programme has been developed with industry input and covers a broad range of skills such as customer service, personal presentation, managing customer complaints, knowledge of New Zealand tourism features, activities and events.

“It also embraces the value of manaakitanga (hospitality), which is all about ensuring visitors enjoy a unique and memorable New Zealand holiday,” explains Mr Cossar.

“Our target is for 8000 to 10,000 trainees to go through the programme before the Rugby World Cup kicks off in Auckland in September 2011.”

Popular visitor destination Rotorua has greeted KiaOraMai with enthusiasm, becoming the first city in New Zealand to officially sign up to the programme.

“Our visitors come into contact with so many different businesses and interact with so many different individuals,” says Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Roger Gordon.

“All of these contacts create the impression and add to the experience that they take with them when they leave. This is why it is so important to have a whole of community approach to this service skills training programme.

“It doesn’t matter whether it is the hairdresser, the bus driver, the person behind the counter at the local dairy, the waiter, the barman or the porter, they are all equally important in the impression we give. It just shows what we can achieve when we all strive together towards a common goal.”   

KiaOraMai is a cross-industry initiative, developed by TIA and the Service Industries Training Alliance (SITA), with funding from the Ministry of Tourism and Te Puni Kokiri. Air New Zealand and Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) have been named as the first two training providers.

Air New Zealand’s Group General Manager Vanessa Stoddart welcomed the new innovative employee training programme and the consistency it will bring to the Kiwi hospitality industry.

For more information see www.kiaoramai.co.nz.

 

For further information

Ann-Marie Johnson
Senior Communications Advisor
Tourism Industry Association (TIA)
Phone: 04 496 5001
Mobile: 027 600 4565
Email: ann-marie.johnson@tianz.org.nz