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The Water Workforce Analysis report

The Water Workforce Analysis report was commissioned by the Department of Internal Affairs and Waihanga Ara Rau.

26 October 2022

The Water Workforce Analysis report was commissioned by the Department of Internal Affairs and Waihanga Ara Rau (the Workforce Development Council for Infrastructure & Construction, which advises Te Pukenga to ensure vocational education meets future needs).

The purpose of this report is to inform water workforce planning into the future, in the context of increasing demand driven by the significant investment required in upgrading three waters infrastructure across NZ.

The modelling in this report is based on what councils currently plan to invest in water-related capital works and operational activities under their 10-year Long Term Plans.

The report shows significant water workforce demand into the future even without the additional investment expected under reform.

DIA has concluded that this additional workforce demand would be a significant challenge to address under the status quo of 67 different councils each managing their own water services. This reinforces the need for reform to create the scale required to build a world-class water workforce that can be efficiently and effectively deployed to meet that future demand.