Last week I wrote about the 2017 decision by NorthTec to dis-establish their Sport and Recreation Course, and their subsequent decision earlier this year to re-instate it after a swift and definite response from the Northland sport and recreation sector.

Sport Northland and NorthTec have since strengthened their partnership (already in place due to the course being operated out of Sport Northland’s ASB Leisure Centre) through the signing of a Statement of Shared Objectives (SOSO) agreement recently.

The SOSO focuses on opportunities for NorthTec and Sport Northland to work collaboratively with for the benefit of the course and ultimately for the future quality of the sport and recreation sector workforce.

Developing new local learners of sport, recreation, health and wellbeing and improving quality employment opportunities within Northland’s sporting industry were two key objectives of the agreement.

At the recent signing of the document, NorthTec Director of Development Phil Alexander-Crawford said: “We are all stakeholders in developing our region and helping our people achieve better lives through education. This is another key relationship that NorthTec Tai Tokerau Wananga values, and today’s signing formalises our commitment to work together to support each other’s shared objectives for the wellbeing of our students, graduates, industry, Treaty partners and the Te Tai Tokerau region as a whole.”

From Sport Northland’s perspective, the agreement further cements the relationship between the two organisations, with a particular focus on the future sustainability of the NorthTec Sport and Recreation course.

While it is hugely important for the sport and recreation sector in Northland to have a future workforce that is trained and skilled, it is obviously even more beneficial to have Northlanders studying and gaining practical experience in the sector right here in their own backyard – that way we are more likely to keep them here working in the sector that they love.

As part of the agreement, Sport Northland will also partner NorthTec to ensure the content of the course is relevant, up-to-date and in line with industry requirements to ensure that graduates enter the workforce with the right skills and knowledge to be successful.

I urge any school leaver in Northland who has a passion for working in the sport and recreation sector to consider NorthTec as their first option for studying – as NorthTec say in their slogan “stay close, go far”, and that’s exactly what the majority of NorthTec Sport and Recreation graduates have done over the years.