MITO is delighted to announce that it has launched a new training programme that leads to the New Zealand Certificate in Port Operations (Level 3) qualification. This programme, designed for entry level positions in the port operations environment, provides specialist knowledge and skills in the heavy machine operation aspect of port operations.
MITO Chief Executive Janet Lane says “This new training programme offers a significant career pathway for port workers, helping to fulfil the training capacity requirements of the industry. We are pleased to launch this programme that supports improved job performance, enhances employment opportunities and reiterates MITO’s commitment to workforce development within the Ports and Stevedoring industry.”
The training programme takes 13 months to complete with MITO offering ongoing guidance and support throughout the entire programme. Programme delivery is implemented in-house, where approved company trainers deliver the training and conduct assessment internally. Training resources incorporate a blended approach to learning with both practical and theory elements, and ensure training outcomes are nationally consistent and quality assured.
“This programme could not have been accomplished without the dedicated commitment of the Port Industry Association and members of the Education and Training Sub-Committee,” says Ms Lane. “MITO wholeheartedly thanks them for their input and subject expertise. Together, we help ensure that workers within the port industry are provided with the educational opportunities and career pathways they need to stay safe and succeed in their jobs, now and in the future.”
View more information on the New Zealand Certificate in Port Operations (Level 3).
It is already five months since Theresa May triggered Article 50, thereby serving the mandatory two years’ notice for Britain to leave the EU on 29 March, 2019 writes David Bulk for Yahoo Finance.
In that time there have been limited proposals formulated in terms of policy documentation – especially by the UK government.
The EU side certainly knows what it wants and most of what we hear this side of the Channel from Juncker, Verhofstadt and Barnier are edicts and demands.
Well, Britain’s very own Brexit triumvirate of May, Davis and Fox are back at work from their summer holidays; so let battle commence!
MORE: 5 things the UK needs to maintain a Green Brexit
MORE: Frankfurt and Dublin set to sweep bank jobs away from UK
The word on the street is that, despite discussion papers on transition periods for customs unions and plans to maintain equilibrium (or near enough the status quo in the case of Ireland and Northern Ireland), the UK government is a mile behind the curve in terms of preparation.
The fact that the Government, after a disastrous general election, has no overall majority, inevitably means that a ‘hard’ Brexit – or a ‘hard-nosed’ plan – should be no longer on the table for discussion.
Continue here to read the full article on Yahoo Finance || August 22, 2017 |||
China is to start running the world’s fastest train service between Beijing and Shanghai, with trains eventually hurtling along the track at up to 400 kph, making them a viable alternative to flying the sector.
The Fuxing fast bullet trains will initially run at a slower speed of 350 kph on the route. Service will begin in just one month, on 21 September 2017, China Railway Corporation has confirmed.
Fuxing is not an adjective. It means rejuvenation, with national rejuvenation being a slogan promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The train has been put into service initially on two railway lines connecting major cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, China’s Xinhua news service reported. Fuxing high-speed trains will make 39 one-way trips between Beijing and Tianjin and six one-way trips between Beijing and Xingtai, Hebei each day. The trains will stop at 10 cities in the region.
The trains offer power outlets, USB ports and free WiFi, making them far more advanced than Australian trains, and not just in terms of speed.
The Fuxing high-speed trains ran in June for the first time on the Beijing-Shanghai line, China’s busiest route, used by more than 500,000 passengers daily.
Fuxing fast trains will knock an hour off the 1318km journey between Beijing and Shanghai. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, which examined the current train schedule, reported that the fastest bullet train running currently on the route takes four hours and 55 minutes and most bullet trains take around 5½ hours.
| Written by Peter Needham eGlobalTravelMedia || August 23, 2017 |||
Smart factories are a key aspect of the fourth industrial revolution, but a factory can’t evolve into a smart factory unless its workers evolve, too.
The skills gap has a lot of manufacturers wondering about what the future holds. Should employers offer more pay to entice existing talent? How can we encourage students to pursue STEM and skilled education?
As if finding skilled workers wasn’t hard enough, the industry is changing so fast that many careers end up being moving targets. Companies can’t implement cutting-edge digital solutions if their workforce doesn’t have the skills to use that new tech effectively.
Perhaps the solution to the skills gap isn’t in filling old jobs, but creating new roles that maximize the effectiveness of digital technologies
According to a recent report by research institute UI Labs in collaboration with HR consultancy ManpowerGroup, that’s exactly what needs to happen.
“By mapping the digital roles and skills of the future, our research will help companies and schools upskill today’s manufacturing workforce for the connected, smart machine and augmented-technology jobs of an increasingly digital enterprise,” said ManpowerGroup CEO Jonathan Prising. “This will help bridge the skills gap and highlights the advanced and attractive jobs emerging on the forefront of the manufacturing sector.”
Continue here to the full report which identifies 165 of those emerging roles | An engineering.com release || August 22, 2017 |||
Paris – Total is pleased to announce that the Boards of Total and A.P. Møller – Mærsk have both approved the acquisition of 100% of the equity of the E&P company Maersk Oil & Gas A/S (Maersk Oil), a wholly owned subsidiary of A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S, by Total in a share and debt transaction.
Under the agreed terms, A.P. Møller – Maersk will receive a consideration of $4.95 billion in Total shares and Total will assume $2.5 billion of Maersk Oil’s debt. Total will issue to A.P. Møller – Maersk A/S, 97.5 million of shares, based on the average Total share price on the 20 business days prior to August, 21 (signing date) which will represent 3.75% of the enlarged share capital of Total. Underpinning this share based partnership, subject to Total shareholders’ approval, Total has also offered the possibility of a seat on its Board of Directors to A.P. Møller Holding A/S, main shareholder of A.P. Møller – Mærsk.
The proposed transaction is subject to the applicable legally required consultation and notification processes for employee representatives and to approvals by the relevant regulatory authorities. The transaction is expected to close in first quarter 2018 and has an effective date of 1st July 2017.
The combination with Maersk Oil offers Total an exceptional overlap of upstream businesses globally which will enhance Total’s competitiveness and value in many core areas, in particular through some high quality growing assets and through the delivery of synergies. Specifically the transaction will bring the following benefits to Total:
Around 1 billion boe of 2P/2C reserves, 85% of which are in OECD countries (more than 80% in the North Sea), contributing to Total’s continuous balancing of country risks of its portfolio to enhance shareholder value The addition of 160 kboe/d of mainly liquids production in 2018, acquired at an average price of 46 k$/boepd, offering high margins with an estimated free cash flow break-even of less than $30 per barrel and growing to more than 200 kboe/d by the early 2020’s further strengthening Total’s leading production growth outlook Total expects to generate operational, commercial and financial synergies of more than $400 million per year, in particular by the combination of assets of Total and Maersk Oil in North Sea, an area of excellence for both companies The transaction is immediately accretive to both earnings and cash flow per share underpinning Total’s dividend profile.
At closing of the transaction, in order that Total’s shareholders benefit from the accretive impact of the acquisition of Maersk Oil on earnings and cash flow, the Board of Directors of Total will consider removing the discount offered on the scrip dividend.
Commenting on the transaction, Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO said, “This transaction delivers an exceptional opportunity for Total to acquire, via an equity transaction, a company with high quality assets which are an excellent fit with many of Total’s core regions. The combination of Maersk Oil’s North Western Europe businesses with our existing portfolio will position Total as the second operator in the North Sea with strong production profiles in UK, Norway and Denmark, thus increasing exposure to conventional assets in OECD countries. Internationally, in the US Gulf of Mexico, Algeria, East Africa, Kazakhstan and Angola there is an excellent fit between Total and Maersk Oil’s businesses allowing for value accretion through commercial, operating and financial synergies.
We are also very pleased that we will have a new anchor point in Denmark which will host our North Sea Business Unit and supervise our operations in Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. We intend to build on the strong operational and technical competencies of the Maersk Oil teams in the same way we managed to do it in Belgium with the teams of Petrofina in the refining & chemical businesses."
Patrick Pouyanné concluded : “This transaction is immediately accretive to both cash flow and earnings per share and delivers further growth over coming years. It is in line with our announced strategy to take advantage of the current market conditions and of our stronger balance sheet to add new resources at attractive conditions. By adding such a portfolio of growing conventional offshore North Sea assets, we confirm our strategy for value creation of, on the one hand, playing to our core strengths in order to grow further and, on the other hand, to constantly seek to lower our break-even by delivering significant synergies. This transaction will deepen and accelerate this strategy significantly, as Total will become a 3 Mboe/d major by 2019 to the benefit of all Total shareholders.” Key Themes of Transaction - Acquisition transforms Total’s North West Europe outlook.
Excellent overlap internationally enhances Total’s regional businesses.
The transaction also will strengthen other core Total regional businesses due to clear complementary positions between Total and Maersk Oil including:
To listen to Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné’s live webcast at 13:00 today (London time) please log on to total.com or call +44 (0) 20 3427 1909 in Europe or +1 212 444 0896 in the United States (code: 5091367). For the replay, please visit the website or call +44 (0) 207 984 7568 in Europe or +1 719 457 0820 in the United States (code: 5091367).
| A Total release || August 21, 2017 |||
Air New Zealand has today announced earnings before taxation for the 2017 financial year of $527 million, compared to $663 million in the prior year - the second highest result in the airline’s history. Net profit after taxation was $382 million.
Chairman Tony Carter praised the strong result, acknowledging the airline’s staff for their continued focus on driving profitable network growth during a period of significant new competition.
A 2017 final fully imputed dividend of 11.0 cents per share has been declared, an increase of ten percent on the prior year, bringing the full year declared ordinary dividends to 21.0 cents per share.
“Based on the airline’s strong financial position, future capital commitments and improving trading environment, the Board felt it appropriate to increase the dividend,” says Mr Carter. The final dividend will be paid on 18 September 2017 to investors on record at the close of business on 8 September 2017.
In recognition of the result, the Board has awarded a Company Performance Bonus of up to $1,700 to be paid next week to approximately 8,500 Air New Zealanders who do not have other incentive programmes as part of their employment agreement.
Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon says 2017 has been an exciting and productive year and credits the airline’s staff for their outstanding contribution.
“This year Air New Zealand faced an unprecedented increase in the level of competition from some of the world’s largest airlines and effectively rose to the challenge. The impressive way our team responded to the new competition while at the same time achieving commercial, customer and cultural excellence, helped to deliver our second highest profit ever,” says Mr Luxon.
The airline’s loyalty programme, AirpointsTM, continues to grow at an impressive rate, with more than 2.5 million members, up 16 percent on the prior year. Australia is the largest offshore market for Airpoints members, and has grown by more than 17 percent in the past 12 months.
In 2018, Air New Zealand will continue growing its comprehensive domestic network. The airline sees opportunity coming from inbound tourism as well as strong domestic tourism. Following the rollout of last year's Northland marketing campaign, A Summer of Safety, a key element of Air New Zealand's growth strategy will involve continued support to regional stakeholders in developing attractive tourism propositions.
Internationally, the airline’s strategy to enter key markets with the help of revenue-sharing alliance partners and strong market development plans has helped drive successful expansion. In the coming year, Air New Zealand’s offshore growth will focus on the Japan market with the addition of Haneda, as well as increasing services during peak season across routes in the Pacific Islands and North and South America.
Mr Luxon says that recent announcements regarding competitor capacity rationalisation support the airline’s view of a stronger revenue environment in the coming year.
Outlook
Looking forward to the year ahead, the airline is optimistic about the overall market dynamics. Based upon current market conditions and assuming an average jet fuel price of US$60 per barrel (which represents the average over the past two months), the airline is aiming to improve upon 2017 earnings.
2017 highlights
Click here to download video of Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon discussing the company result.
Cavalier sinks into the red as restructuring costs mount
Wellington security company launches on-line cyber-awareness training
First Gas Powers Up With Promapp’s Process Mapping Solution
MITO Launches New Zealand Certificate in Port Operations
Air New Zealand announces second highest profit in company history
With a reported $11 billion dollars to be spent on strengthening infrastructure over the next four years, the New Zealand government’s pledged funding has fostered strong confidence among the domestic workforce.
In a survey conducted by global recruitment specialist, Michael Page, professionals in New Zealand rated the fourth highest in employment confidence within Asia Pacific. The Michael Page Job Applicant Confidence Index Q2 2017, evaluated the responses of mid to senior-level employees across industries and revealed New Zealand ranked 72 on the confidence index, above the Asia Pacific average of 64.
“The government is investing in infrastructure on the back of the population growth. This has created new job opportunities for professionals in the building sector including those skilled in civil engineering, residential property as well as commercial construction. This is where we are seeing the largest demand for talent right now,” observes Pete Macauley, Regional Director, Michael Page New Zealand.
Most notably, the record numbers of immigration to New Zealand has also driven growth in the construction, retail, manufacturing, consumer products and professional services industries. In view of the country’s hiring demand for professionals outstripping the supply, 79% of job seekers say that they are confident of securing a job in less than three months. In addition, 48% responded with optimism stating they see good employment opportunities in their areas of expertise and 68% of job seekers are confident the job market will get better in the next six months.
“We have seen organisations focus on promotion prospects for existing employees in the recent years which has resulted in strong optimism among professionals. However this has led to a highly candidate-driven employment landscape as professionals who can see a succession plan for themselves in their companies are unlikely to leave,” Pete Macauley shares his insights.
On attracting top tier candidates in New Zealand, Pete Macauley continues, “Companies are doing a very good job of retaining their best talent. A lot of human resources strategising has gone into ensuring learning and development as well as personal progression are well integrated into every employee’s career. Professionals in New Zealand are most concerned with selecting employers who can prove that they will progress on performance and continually invest in internal growth opportunities.”
Respondents to the Michael Page Job Applicant Confidence Index Q2 2017 also listed developing new skills (42%) and achieving better work-life balance (36%) as the top two reasons why they are most likely to switch jobs.
On top of investing heavily in organisational growth to enhance skills development, companies have also harnessed the latest technologies to allow employees their desired work-life balance. As more hiring managers recognise that flexibility as a talent attraction tool, efforts have also gone towards enabling professionals to do their job outside of the office and promoting dynamic working.
In New Zealand’s current hiring market, the strongest talent are aware of their position to demand the best compensation packages. Employers who can fulfill all their requirements for salary, career development and work-life balance will be best placed to secure top tier candidates for further business growth.
Editor’s note: The Michael Page Job Applicant Confidence Index Q2 2017 is a measure of how optimistic job applicants are about the current job market. The responses are based on those that applied for a job published on our Michael Page website in Q2 2017
| A SmartRecruitmentNews release || August 19, 2017 \\\
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242