Kia ora koutou ITP members and supporters. What a day in New Zealand sporting achievements, a fantastic distraction from pending election noise and as a long time Black Caps supporter, awesome result. 

It’s IT Professionals election time as well right now, we have our AGM scheduled at the end of the month and our branch committee and national board are elected from our membership. 
Volunteering to run not-for-profits is a fairly thankless and rewarding job all at the same time, in the digital equity space where I volunteer hundreds of hours a year, I meet people who are so passionate, committed to their communities and helping others. My quest for IT Professionals is for us to be relentlessly focused on supporting the career aspirations of anyone who works in or wants to work in the digital technology industry, for our workforce to thrive which involves an education system, employer support and government environment to all be working towards the same goals. But I can’t do this alone, I need our membership to swing into action as well, the first line of support here being branch committees who represent local issues and our national board who governs the organisation. 
So if you’re reading this and are an ITP member (or are not you can join for this purpose) and want to support me in this quest think about volunteering for one of these roles. The time commitment is modest compared with the time involved in closing the digital divide I promise. 

To non-election news. The Engineering Leadership Forum met yesterday and discussed our very real concerns about where our future workforce is coming from, concerns for those learners who had a substandard high school or higher education experience during Covid times, now facing turmoil in both the vocational and tertiary systems. Concerns about declining participation and achievement in STEM subjects. Many of us have been operating programmes at all levels of education for many years with great engagement yet we are seeing the numbers going in the wrong direction. As a collective we are committed to doing something differently, being part of the solution and I am thrilled for the opportunity to work with my colleagues across water, concrete, electrical, civil and all other disciplines of engineering on this. STEM is just that important. 

Why do we need standards for our industry 

I am often asked why I waste my time on standards, am often told they are important when building a house or office block but not in tech. Well I disagree. Software controls cars, it controls combine harvesters, it controls the electricity grid, traffic lights - failures of these and a myriad of other things can have significant to catastrophic outcomes.

Standards establish a common language and framework, ensuring that products and services across the globe are consistent in quality, safety, and interoperability. This harmonisation not only fosters trust among consumers and businesses but also streamlines international trade by reducing technical barriers. When a tech product is compliant with recognised standards, it signifies a benchmark of reliability, allowing it to seamlessly integrate into systems worldwide without the need for repetitive testing or modifications.

By offering a solid, consistent foundation, standards allow technology firms and innovators to build on pre-established frameworks rather than starting from scratch. Hopefully this means that creators can channel their energies into cutting-edge developments and enhancements, knowing that their innovations will be compatible with existing systems. 

We have always been told we punch above our weight, a small scrappy inventive nation - but we also need to ensure those inventions will be accepted in other jurisdictions, meet their regulatory requirements. Standards are the way to achieve this. 

Cybersecurity skills

Another area standards are really important. Standards bodies like ISO and IEC are focused on data breach and cyber threat protections, writing standards to embed robust security measures in software, basically lifting the bar for software developers in this space. 

I’ve been hearing mutterings that people are investing in obtaining Cyber security certifications and microcredentials to find these alone aren’t landing them $100k+ jobs as promised by vendor organisations. The Digital Skills for our digital future report tells us “By 2026, it is expected that Australia’s cybersecurity sector will have 3,000 fewer workers than needed.” And Cybersecurity analyst made the top 10 recruited roles in 2022 according to the same report. So it would seem the demand side is there. The challenge as I see it comes back to the foundational skills needed to work in any aspect of digital technology - remember my analogy about the cake? Jumping straight to a Cyber certification is like adding a flower or bauble without baking the cake or adding the icing first. 

Where am I going with this you ask? there is a place for certifications and microcredentials but we need to help learners understand when a diploma or a degree is more appropriate to reach the goals our industry offers. The PTE's (private training enterprises) and Polytechnics are providing ever more flexible ways of learning, accommodating the ability to earn while you learn - so jumping to the shiny new vender cert might be great for someone who is upskilling or retraining, perhaps not for those who are new to the industry.

Blogs this week

Brendan was inspired by the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried fraud trial - if you have no idea what this is all about, in a nutshell, his cryptocurrency exchange was valued at $32B US$ and went bankrupt within a matter of weeks, he is charged with diverting billions of dollars of customers funds into risky trades and other investments. Brendan’s cartoon - Bad Hair Day. 

Peter’s editorial today - National plan to go big on aerospace - without spending anything, their plans to appoint a Minister for Space and approve additional aerospace facilities. When I was in Ōtautahi Christchurch a few weeks ago there were passionate protestors (and resulting police presence) outside Te Pae while the Aerospace conference was held there.

Our guest blog this week - Are NFTs really dead and buried? All signs point to “yes” - gives a great reminder of what NFTs are (or were), why they came about and their apparent demise.

I have been experimenting with licensed versions of Generative AI products in my spare time this week. I am often asked for a simple explainer about GenAI so asked ChatGPT4 to write one of these - even let it choose the title. A Deep Dive into Generative AI: From Origins to Future Implications - it’s meant to be in my voice (not sure but maybe?) and while the instruction was for an explainer, the title promises something more technical so there is a mismatch there. Otherwise I thought it was OK, I asked for a few paragraphs to be regenerated to get to this finished product.

Bridging the Gap Podcast

This week I spoke with Dr Alvin Yeo from the University of Waikato on his role supporting students as they find their first graduate roles and join the workforce. A fascinating conversation on his own journey and Alvin is just so much fun to chat with. Hope you enjoy. You can listen to this on Spotify and Apple.

All of the episodes can be found here Bridging the Gap Podcast.

I’m off to Waikato to celebrate 50 years of computing with the Waikato University next week, then to Tāmaki Makaurau for a couple of days to meet with some of ITP’s education partners and business who support us. Looking forward to both of these and fitting in a Digital Boost Alliance hui along the way. 

Events

I’m in the process of finalising our summer Fireside Chat series. 
So far I can tell you I will be talking to Kendra Ross post election on the Cyber Security environment here in Aotearoa NZ, her advice to the income government and her thoughts on the recent announcements eg: the CERT moving to GCSB. As the wahine toa of Cyber in Aotearoa it’s wonderful that Kendra is able to speak to us. 
I am also thrilled to advise the Emily Blythe, winner of Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year - New Zealand Innovator of the year 2023 will also be joining me. We will talk about the award, her high flying life as a successful entrepreneur, what she has achieved for her very young age and the role of mentors she has worked with to help her succeed. 

Auckland folks - members and non-members alike you are invited to an End of Year networking events, to be held at GridAKL in the Wynyard Quarter. It’s next week on Friday 13th and there will be loads of students there all wanted to get advice on careers in digital technology - so please come along to network and chat with our future workforce.

Lunch and Learn on Insurance - Monday week, on the 16th, I will be talking to Jake from insurance brokers Rothbury on all things we in digital tech need to know about insurance. For contractors, those thinking about contracting, small businesses and individuals.

For ITP members - reminder our AGM is coming up on the 31st.

Te Reo Māori Digital Technology terms

Pūtiaki raraunga - Database
Tūhonohono - Link or hyperlink
Rapu - Search

Rapu is such a great word, it can be used for investigate or hunt or look for. The full list of words can be found here.

Have a great weekend everyone. Kia pai ō rā whakatā