NorthTec hosts first AGM

On Wednesday afternoon NorthTec hosted its first ever Annual General Meeting, inviting various stakeholders from the wider community to attend. 

"This was our first annual meeting where we set out to not only be accountable for our performance to date, but, more importantly, to talk about our strategy for the future.  In this way we can gain feedback to test our thinking”, said Andy Britton, Director of Corporate Services and AGM organiser. 

NorthTec Council Chair, Vern Dark, introduced stakeholders to the afternoon event.  Chief Executive, Paul Binney, provided a detailed survey of the organisations performance in 2011, emphasising in particular the need to work to improve the accomplishments of Māori students. Mention was made of the success of Māori students in the Bachelor of Nursing programme where NorthTec was judged the top performing Nursing school for Maori nationwide in the results of a recent National benchmarking exercise. 

Mr Binney also outlined the direction the senior management team will be steering the Polytechnic over the coming months, and years. NorthTec Business Directors followed by outlining key new initiatives that are planned to be rolled out in the coming year.

One of the projects in progress is a Māori responsiveness plan, “Te Kāpehu” (The Compass), in which NorthTec is looking at how to better provide for Māori students, who currently make up over 46 per cent of NorthTec’s overall student base.

Another innovative project is a work readiness programme focusing on Northland’s “at risk” youth, being led by Creative Industries Director, Khalid Bakhshov.

Other new initiatives mentioned include the planned introduction of a variety of new courses in the Health and Environment Directorate, such as a Diploma in Sustainable Rural Development, and courses in the Aquaculture industry.

The feedback from stakeholders who attended the meeting was very positive. They were particularly impressed with the increased communication between Stakeholders and the Polytechnic, and the forward focused direction that NorthTec was heading.

Andy Britton extended his thanks to all who attended the meeting. “We look forward to increased engagement with our stakeholders, and of course next year’s annual meeting", he said.

More information on NorthTec’s 2011 performance can be found in the 2011 Annual Review