CMITO's 2009 activities

Since its launch in March 2009, the Communications and Media ITO (CMITO) has tackled a number of projects.

CMITO is the Industry Training Organisation for the print, packaging and journalism industries. PrintNZ Training and the NZ Journalists Training Organisation (NZJTO) are sectors of CMITO.

A key project has been the launch of the National Diploma in Applied Journalism (Level 6). Forty print journalists from newspapers across New Zealand have since signed on to the qualification. CMITO has been working hard to make sure the trainee journalists receive the support they need. This also involves ensuring the ITO has the right systems and processes in place.

Since the launch a programme for print sub-editors has been developed. This is about to be launched to newspapers and magazines.

Work is almost finished on developing the journalism qualification for radio journalists. The qualification will also be available for TV journalists in 2010.

CMITO has also developed and implemented a new workplace literacy tool. This tool will be used by Training Liaison Officers when people sign on to training programmes. The quick assessment will help diagnose literacy issues and enable the ITO to provide support for the learner. This will, in turn, help boost completion rates.

CMITO manager, Anne Benson, says during 2010 the focus will be on providing a ‘whole of business’ approach to companies.

“This involves us sitting down with the decision-maker in a business and discussing the training needs of the entire business. This will help us to meet industry needs and was one of the ideas discussed at the recent Industry Review Workshop.

“We will also be focusing on improving our completion rates. This refers to the number of people who sign on to a training programme completing it successfully.”

December 2009

Introducing Anne Benson – CMITO Manager

New Communications and Media ITO manager, Anne Benson, comes to the role with a wealth of experience in the education and ITO fields.

Anne’s background in education and administration put her in a strong position to work towards further expanding the focus of CMITO and driving it forward.

“I am looking forward to the challenges of my new role,” Anne said, “and especially learning about the communications and media industries. I am familiar with the ITO world so it is really exciting to be learning about the different industries that are training with CMITO.  It is an exciting area to be working in.”

Anne previously worked at the Hospitality Standards Institute, the ITO for the hospitality industry, where she was initially employed as a strategy advisor before moving into the role of corporate services manager. This involved managing resources, data reporting, budget, ICT and the Modern Apprenticeship programme.

Prior to that Anne worked at the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) as an advisor to ITOs. At the time PrintNZ Training was part of her portfolio and she formed relationships within the ITO during the course of her work.

In her spare time Anne enjoys reading, going to the theatre, spending time with her family and eating out.

November 2009

Strong up-take in Journalism Diploma

Forty trainee journalists have signed on to the National Diploma in Applied Journalism (Level 6) with more sign-ons in the pipelines.

The trainees work for both small and large newspapers from Auckland to Dunedin. These include The NZ Herald, Dominion Post, Dargaville and Districts News and the Timaru Herald.

NZJTO executive director Mike Fletcher, is pleased with the level of interest shown in the qualification.

“We are currently working on the training manual for Keen interest in Journalism qual Forty trainee journalists have signed on to the National Diploma in Applied Journalism (Level 6) with more sign-ons in the pipelines. radio journalists and we expect the Diploma will be available for trainee radio journalists in the next couple of months,” Mike said.

“The next step will be preparing the qualifi cation for television journalists.”

For more information on the National Diploma in Applied Journalism phone 04 560 2937 or click here to visit the NZJTO website.  The NZJTO together with PrintNZ Training are sectors of CMITO.