Site Safe New Zealand launch VR training courses for New

Zealand’s construction industry

Health and safety training for New Zealand’s construction industry has levelled up with the launch of Site Safe’s first virtual reality (VR) training courses.

facing a skilled labour shortage, the development of VR health and safety training is an innovative way of getting people ready for work in the construction industry.

“By utilising technology such as VR, Site Safe continues to lead in providing innovative and effective ways of delivering workplace health and safety training,” says Site Safe Chief Executive Brett Murray.

Site Safety Card (valid for two years). The digital card includes a green ‘Foundation’ indicator, showing they have completed the foundational training that allows them to work safely on a New Zealand construction site.

Job seeker Jacob Hedley was the first person to complete the VR Foundation Passport training course, and in oneand-a-half hours, he gained his digital Site Safety Card and important skills that would help him in his search for a job.

“I was actually blown away, I told my missus, I told my brother-in law, father-in-law, and a friend over in Australia,” said Jacob.

As a key sector currently

“It is important that we are doing all we can to ensure that construction is seen as a safe and attractive sector to work in. Training plays a big part in building the competence and confidence of our workforce to produce good work outcomes,” says Brett.

“As the industry’s leading safety organisation, we are committed to working alongside industry to make sure our training is the gold standard in giving our kaimahi the knowledge they need to stay safe onsite.”

The discussion and debate of different views are a healthy part of democracy, so when some views are not represented in parliament, this can give rise to unrest and division. Last year’s month-long protest outside parliament may be a sign of things to come unless there is reform to our electoral system.

Of the 2,886,427 votes cast in the 2020 election, 225,190 of those went to parties which failed to meet the 5% threshold to get into parliament. That is more than the entire population of Wellington City without a party to represent them in the Beehive.

The Independent Electoral Review is set to put forward a package of recommendations to the Government in November. In its interim report, one of those recommendations is to lower the party vote threshold to 3.5% from the 5% threshold which was set when New Zealand’s population was much smaller.

“Lowering the threshold will broaden representation by allowing more minor parties into parliament, while still allowing for the formation of stable parliaments and effective governments,” the review panel says.

However, a 3.5% threshold would not have made a material difference in the last election, so perhaps there is an argument to take this proposal further and lower it more substantially, or abolish the threshold altogether.

Either way, more people will vote for their favoured party if there is a higher chance of them getting into parliament, giving us greater representation and a more democratic parliament.