Carmel Sepuloni will journey to the Northern Hemisphere for a variety of key engagements following the opening of Aotearoa New Zealand’s borders and as we reconnect with the world.
The Minister can be travelling to Paris, Amsterdam, The Hague, Glasgow and Edinburgh, departing Wednesday 24 August and returning on Saturday 3 September.
“Now that Aotearoa New Zealand is open for business, it is vital that we continue to lay the foundations, build upon existing work to reconnect and restrengthen our ties with the rest of the world,” Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni mentioned.
“With our unemployment rate one of the lowest in the OECD, our response to COVID-19 has positioned us well to respond to a challenging global situation. Our economy has come through the pandemic better than nearly anywhere in the world and this is a story worth sharing,” Carmel Sepuloni mentioned.
In Glasgow, the Minister will meet her employment and social improvement portfolio counterpart, Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training.
“As with Aotearoa New Zealand’s Regional Workforce Plans, Scotland’s regional skills investment plans aim to create a more highly skilled and resilient workforce and better balance the skills of local workers with the skills employers need,” Carmel Sepuloni mentioned.
“Empowering workforce planning at a regional level recognises regions have diverse and distinctive needs. It will be invaluable to learn more about Scotland’s more established experience with this approach,” Carmel Sepuloni mentioned.
In The Hague and Paris, she is going to meet together with her counterparts to talk about how their employment programmes have supported their restoration from COVID-19 and their method to social unemployment insurance coverage.
“The Dutch social unemployment insurance coverage scheme has been in place since 1952. I’m fascinated with how they’ve achieved success with their scheme, and the way we are able to profit from their learnings and feed that into the design of our proposed New Zealand Income Insurance scheme.
“It’s crucial that we continue to learn from our foreign counterparts to improve our ways of working, how we can better protect workers and their incomes, and build the skilled workforce that we need as we secure our recovery from COVID-19,” Carmel Sepuloni mentioned.
The Minister can even visit the headquarters of the OECD in Paris, constructing on Aotearoa New Zealand’s robust relationship with the organisation.
“I am looking forward to meetings with the OECD Secretary-General, as well as key employment and income insurance experts to draw on their unique international expertise with regards to these initiatives,” Carmel Sepuloni mentioned.
The Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage will current to the Edinburgh International Culture Summit in Scotland, which runs over three days from 26 to 28 August 2022, and can join with arts and tradition sector leaders attending from all around the globe.
“As one of the most important events in the international arts and culture calendar, the Summit is a unique opportunity to learn about other Governments’ experiences when facing similar challenges to Aotearoa,” Carmel Sepuloni mentioned.
Under the korowai of the Culture and Education theme, the Summit will discover the very important function of arts and tradition in curricula and the way it enriches our worldviews.
“The Summit will be an important platform where we can demonstrate the prestige of toi Māori and highlight the benefits of Aotearoa New Zealand’s arts and culture on the world stage,” Carmel Sepuloni mentioned.
“I’m trying ahead to utilizing the chance to current to spotlight Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories curriculum rollout and our Creatives in Schools programme.
“Following important investments in New Zealand’s arts and tradition sectors as a part of our COVID-19 response, the Summit can even present key worldwide insights that may assist inform our future helps for creatives.
“This trip presents a real opportunity for us to share our learnings from COVID-19, and gain insights into how we can continue moving our employment, education, and training system as well as our economy in the right direction,” Carmel Sepuloni mentioned.
(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)