Winepress - August 2024

A final Vakameasina course - RSE workers from Papua New Guinea with tutor Wendy Mein

Farewell Vakameasina

After 14 years, the RSE worker training programme provided by Fruition Horticulture has come to an end

BEV DOOLE

VAKAMEASINA TRAINING courses for Marlborough RSE workers have been tapering off and have now stopped completely after a Government decision to change providers.

Starting with a pilot project in 2009, Fruition Horticulture developed and ran Vakameasina, an education and development programme funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade as NZ aid to the Pacific. Vakameasina, which translates as “treasures we carry together”, teaches skills ranging from cooking and budgeting to plumbing and house-building. Taking part is voluntary and free for Pacific RSE workers. The Government has committed $10.7 million to the RSE Worker Training Programme over the next five years but as this magazine went to press it wasn’t known when the courses will start again. “[We] can’t comment on timelines while the procurement process for the new provider is underway,” says a spokesperson for MFAT. Fruition Horticulture told RSE employers last month that its bid for the contract was unsuccessful. “Vakameasina is a programme that has been such a big part of our lives for the past 14 years,” says managing director Sandy Scarrow. “We are so sad but mostly proud of what we’ve achieved. It’s been everyone’s collective effort that has made this programme such a success.” All workers start with the Essential Learning course covering health, money management, digital skills and human rights, before choosing further practical training. In Marlborough 2,900 RSE workers took part in Vakameasina courses between 2011 and 2024. The skills they learnt here went back with them to Vanuatu, Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu.

“I’m gutted that Fruition Horticulture aren’t carrying on,” says Tahu Huntley, workforce planning and partnership manager for Hortus. “They were always open to adapting and changing to suit the learners’ needs, finding the right tutor to teach the course, and working hard to innovate new subjects.” A popular course is building a composting toilet. Tahu says that started after Fruition Horticulture visited the Islands to see what impact Vakameasina was having and what other opportunities could be looked at. “Another initiative was to teach bricklaying to help rebuild after cyclones. So not only were the workers heading home with enough money to build a more solid house, they also had the skills to build it.”

Tahu is keen to see the new RSE training programme up and running in time for the arrival of the summer crews from October. “There’s been a tapering off of courses. We had more students wanting to learn but the classes never started for winter. We’re in a lull and it’s a lost opportunity for the workers while it’s being sorted out.”

As well as teaching practical skills, the courses build confidence. “We put forward people who we see have potential, but they may be a little bit softly spoken,” says Tahu. They do the leadership course and by their second or third season they’re our best supervisors. Without that course they would’ve maybe just sat in the background, and not had the same career progression.”

Jemma McMillan, office administrator at Alapa Viticultural Services, says at first a lot of workers are apprehensive about taking a class but that soon subsides once they see there is so much to learn and benefit from. “Our Samoan and Papua New Guinea groups had a really good time on the course and formed great relationships with their tutors. Vakameasina has been a real asset to our RSE community,”she says. Anne Barrer is a tutor and former regional co-ordinator for the programme. She was there at the start and has seen the scheme grow from one or two tutors to up to 10 part-time tutors and classes at RSE accommodation, churches, community halls and rugby clubs. Back in 2011 Anne was writing course materials as she went, with the class using paper handouts and worksheets. Fast-forward to 2024 and there are fully developed workbooks for all the courses, including QR codes for further information online. The guys come to New Zealand with the sole purpose of working on a vineyard and then they discover this added benefit of free education,” says Anne.

“It’s learner-centred – we listen to what they want to know, what’s relevant to them, and they’re hugely grateful and appreciative of their new skills. The graduation ceremonies still bring tears to my eyes, they’re so celebratory and the singing is amazing. We also invite people from the community including the Mayor. I think it’s important that RSE workers see that while they’re in Marlborough they’re part of this community and we appreciate them and what they contribute.”

This sentiment is echoed by Marcus Pickens, general manager at Wine Marlborough and a regular attendee at graduations. “It’s a reciprocal relationship – the RSE workers are vital here, and this programme is a way for them to take skills and improve their lives back home.”