ITP Techblog

Here's a quick weekly update from ITP CEO Paul Matthews

Next week's Thursday Live webinar features Greg James, head of transformation at IRD, talking about their huge transformation project - what went right, what didn't, and some unique insights and war stories.

While sad to be losing her from TechBlog, we're excited to pass on huge congrats to Sarah Putt, who has just been appointed Editor of CIO Magazine (also covering Computerworld). She has big shoes to fill, with Divina Paredes stepping down after more than 20 years, but she'll do very well. Plus a quick update on WDCs and last chance to get involved in our latest Working Group.

Thursday Live: The IRD Transformation

Next week's free ITP Thursday Live webinar features a talk and Q&A with Greg James, head of the major business transformation project at Inland Revenue. What went right, what went wrong, and how on earth do you manage a project this large?

The Inland Revenue transformation project is quite possibly the largest technology-related business transformation project ever in New Zealand and aside from the sorts of teething issues you'd expect of a project of this scale, appears to have been a great success.

Greg James, Inland Revenue's Deputy Commissioner, Transformation will run through how they tackled it and share some unique insights and war stories about the transformation programme. This is a great opportunity to find out more about how the transformation is tracking, plus gain insights about managing a major transformation programme.

As always, the Thursday Live Webinar will kick off with the TechBlog crew talking through the big stories of the week, and finish with an extended Q&A with Greg James.

More details and register

Future webinars

Over lockdown our weekly Friday Live webinars were extremely well attended and it was a great way for our community to keep in touch and keep informed over the lockdown period, along with Tech Chat Tuesdays.

As we move out of lockdown, we want to keep the conversation and opportunities going. So starting from next week, our webinars will continue on a fortnightly basis, kicking off on Thursday May 28th with a presentation and Q&A with Greg James, head of the major business transformation project at Inland Revenue.

We have some great guests lined up and this will be an excellent series. We will also be moving our tech chats to a monthly basis to keep that ball rolling too, plus a series of one-off webinars coming as well - and face-to-face events when it becomes safe to do so.

WDC setup dramatically accelerated

As noted last week, we've been very heavily involved in the establishment of the Workforce Development Councils, the industry component of the larger Review of Vocational Education. This is the review that is making huge changes in the polytech and private training sectors.

The Budget last week included an announcement that this is to be significantly accelerated, with plans to establish the 6 WDCs now brought forward to October this year (from mid-2021). This has led to quite a scramble behind the scenes and within TEC. 

The outcome in terms of subject areas is solidifying and we've put additional proposals to TEC, supported by a broad coalition of industries. We're certainly hoping for a good outcome here and should know shortly.

In terms of the design of the WDCs, this process continues with another full-day meeting of the WDC Reference Group this week. While there are some concerns about the extent of industry input, this is being addressed and the design is looking good so far. We're quietly confident that the structure will be positive for our (and other) industry.

I suspect we'll have more to say on this soon.

Congrats to Sarah Putt

We're very excited that Sarah Putt, TechHub contributor and long-standing tech journo and PR person, has just been appointed Editor of CIO Magazine (and also responsible for Computerworld).

As those who know her know, Sarah is a bundle of energy and will do really well with the CIO and Computerworld brands. We wish her well and are very much looking forward to working with her in her new role. 

Divina Paredes, the previous editor, is retiring after a massive run in the seat. She's been CIO editor since 2006, and MIS Magazine editor before that (prior to the merge of the 2 magazines). So has basically been the face of the magazine for 20 years. She has done an incredible job keeping the magazine relevant and popular, while most other titles in the space dropped right off. Divina will be sorely missed in the sector.

It's not the last you'll see of Sarah from an ITP perspective, however. While she won't be contributing to TechBlog, she will be joining our techblog team on the fortnightly Thursday Live webinar from June to talk through the latest CIO and Computerworld stories.

In terms of TechBlog, Peter Griffin will be taking a more active role in terms of content alongside Paul Brislen, plus we have a few other plans we'll announce in due course.

ITP Office Open 

Our staff have done an incredible job through Alert levels 4 and 3, working from home and still keeping things running well. As we move into level 2, the ITP head office is once again open for business - with a few changes.

Our office will be staffed by one person each day, and we ask that if you come in and visit that you utilise the hand sanitiser available, and sign in/scan the QR Code on the RIPPL app. 

Please do bear with us as we start to catch up on mail (or the physical kind), membership certificates and other business as we slowly get back into a normal routine.

Last chance to get involved: Professional Guidance Working Group

We're about to close off Expressions of Interest for the Professional Guidance Working Group - a really good chance to give back to the profession.

One of the roles of a professional body is providing guidance to IT Professionals about professional practice. In our case, this takes the form of the Code of Ethics, as well as a broader Code of Practice and Professional Knowledge Curriculum.

The Working Group will focus on reviewing these documents for currency and clarity, plus looking at what other guidance we, as an organisation, should provide. It's a great opportunity to "give back" to the profession and looks great on your CV.

The time commitment for the Working Group is around 2-3 hours a month plus meetings, with most meetings happening online for the moment.

We're especially looking for a couple of early-career people to join the team. You don't have to know much about the areas covered off; just be prepared to bring your perspectives and input.

If you're interested in getting involved, flick a note through to [email protected] with your CV (or a link to LinkedIn). It'll be fun!