Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) is undertaking a fundamental review of qualifications and operational limits (QOL Review).
Why?
- To better support New Zealand’s commercial maritime sector, which is a key contributor to our economy.
- To provide relevant qualifications and appropriate operational limits to meet sector needs while ensuring the safety of vessels and their crew, passengers and freight.
- To remove barriers to attracting and retaining skilled and experienced people in the face of a worldwide skills shortage in the commercial maritime sector.
- To make the qualifications and operational framework easier to understand and administer.
What?
- A clean slate review of qualifications and operational limits for New Zealand commercial maritime operations.
- The review is the first step in a long-term programme to rationalise and update maritime qualifications and better align them with operational limits.
- The QOL Review will deliver a new qualifications and operational limits framework, along with recommendations for implementation, including proposed changes to maritime rules.
- Rules likely to be impacted by the review include: Maritime Rule Part 32 (ships’ personnel – qualifications) any associated changes to Rule Part 20 (operating limits), Rule Parts 31 A, B and C (crewing and watchkeeping), Rule Part 34 (medical standards) and Rule Part 35 (training and examinations).
The review covers:
- qualifications, operational limits, examinations, quality assurance and crewing levels
- all on the water commercial maritime operations
- interfaces with non commercial operations.
The review does not cover:
- resolution of labour supply problems
- resolution of industry recruitment problems
- development of rules, processes, systems and organisation structures (these will be covered in subsequent implementation of the new framework).
Who?
- Maritime New Zealand is leading the QOL Review with widespread input from the maritime community.
- QOL Review Project Manager is Bridget Carter who has extensive experience managing significant change projects in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Bridget has an active interest in all things nautical and has completed a circumnavigation under sail.*
- QOL Review Principal Maritime Advisor is John Mansell, former MNZ General Manager Maritime Operations. With experience as a master mariner at sea, time in the fishing industry, head of MNZ’s Safe Ship Management System for ten years and manager of MNZ’s Licensing team for four years, John has in-depth knowledge of New Zealand’s maritime sector.
How?
- MNZ wants to give everyone in the maritime sector the opportunity to have their say on how to improve the current QOL framework.
- There will be extensive engagement and consultation with the maritime community (see QOL Review Timeline).
When?
- The new framework will be designed over the next 2 years with widespread input from the maritime community.
QOL Review Timeline
July to November 2009 – Interviews with maritime community
January 2010 – Summary of key themes released for comment
July 2010 – High level, proposed framework released for consultation
November 2010 – Refined framework released for consultation
February 2011 - New qualifications and operational limits framework delivered
