HATA Conference 

In April, Jasmine Conroy and Lisa Abernethy headed down to Methven for the 2025 Horticulture and Agriculture Teachers’ Association (HATA) Conference. The event was hosted by HATA and Sow the Seed, with help from Mount Hutt College, Geraldine High School, and Mountainview High School, and brought together around 60 ag/hort teachers from all over the country.  

Jasmine and Lisa delivered a workshop on unit standards, consent to assess, moderation and best practice assessment. They also supported moderation exercises during the practical activities workshop. The ladies have also delivered two online seminars on behalf of HATA in February and March. 

    Qualifications and Standards update 

The Qualifications and Standards team are focused on developing the qualifications, standards and micro-credentials that will deliver the best outcomes for industry. Our qualifications development projects are guided by Steering Groups, Provider and Technical Advisor Groups and the Muka Tangata Council so that progress can be handed over to the food and fibre Industry Skill Board in January 2026. 

Current projects:

• Diploma in Business Management
• Entry Level
• Seafood
• Agriculture
• Pork
• Wool
• Field Hydrology
• Irrigation
• Agri-Chem Supply and Application
• Forestry – Machine Assist Felling.

Keep up to date with all of our projects on our website: Qualifications development projects.

Last date of submission

To ensure timely processing of pre-moderation, consent to assess, and programme endorsement applications before the disestablishment of the WDCs, we encourage providers to submit all relevant assessment materials and applications by Friday 3 October 2025. 

We will continue to process applications after this date, but we cannot guarantee they will be completed before we finish operations on Friday 19 December 2025. Any in-progress submissions will be handed over to the relevant Industry Skills Board for completion. 

We encourage you to contact us at the earliest opportunity if you have any questions about this or want to discuss any proposed submission:  moderation@mukatangata.nz

We will update providers as more detail becomes available on the form and operations of the Industry Skills Boards. 

Pānui - Notices 

Enhanced moderation process

Continuing from our Quarter 1 newsletter, we've introduced new features to the Aka Pārongo portal, streamlining the post-moderation process.  

Providers can now: 

• Complete updated post-moderation coversheets directly online,
• Indicate whether materials require pre-moderation,
• Utilise expanded comment sections for context reports. 

We hope these enhancements make the moderation process more efficient and user-friendly. 

Professional development seminars

Our online seminars have seen increased participation this quarter.  

Upcoming seminar topics cover: 

• Workforce Development Plans and TEC investment advice – 18 September 
• Assessing skill and unit standards – 11 September 
• Good programme design and delivery – 25 September 
• Guide to assessment design – 16 October 

For more information and to register for upcoming seminars, visit:

Guidance documents 

For those that missed the special edition newsletter, we recently published four key guideline documents for providers. These resources are designed to support providers and practitioners across the food and fibre sector to deliver high-quality, equitable, and future-focused education and assessment.  

Find all of our guidance documents on our website: Publications.   

Update: Review of Muka Tangata Consent and Moderation Requirements

We’re pleased to share that the Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR) have been officially approved and will be published by NZQA by 10 July. 

To support you in understanding the updates, we will be hosting two online seminars that will walk through the key changes and provide an opportunity to ask questions. 

Register below to attend one of the CMR seminars and stay informed about what the new requirements mean for you. 

Whakamaumahara – Reminders

• Your feedback helps us work with you better. Have your say through our surveys:
  - 2024 Post-Assessment Moderation 
  - Hui Whakapūmau Onsite Moderation & Enhancement Visits
  - 2024 Workshop Survey
  
  
• All assessment resources need to be pre-moderated and approved by Muka Tangata prior to use. There is no cost for this service. Resources can be submitted to moderation@muktangata.nz
  
  
• Coversheet for Pre-Moderation requests.
  
  
• Coversheet for Post-Moderation requests.
  
  
• Consent to Assess application form.
  
  
• Programme Endorsement application form. Send your application to programmes@mukatangata.nz
  
  
• Workforce Development Councils use our provider portal Aka Pārongo for post-assessment moderation material. 
  
  

• Unit standard interpretations are an interim measure until such time as the unit standard can be reviewed in full. Unit standard interpretations are updated regularly and published on our website: unit standard interpretations.