NZCS to Revamp Nationwide ICT Mentoring

NZCS to Revamp Nationwide ICT Mentoring

PRESS RELEASE – NZ Computer Society Inc.
23 April 2008
For Immediate Release

The New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) today announced the establishment of a Working Group to revamp New Zealand’s Nationwide ICT Mentoring Programme, ensuring young ICT professionals have the support they need when entering the sector, and aligning the programme to the Government’s draft Digital Strategy 2.0.

“Formal mentoring is an absolutely essential bridge on the path to being a professional, and this is especially true in ICT”, NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews said today. “We’re looking forward to once again supporting young ICT professionals throughout New Zealand via the Nationwide ICT Mentoring Programme”.

The Society currently provides a very successful nationwide mentoring programme for young professionals however Matthews says the time has come for the programme to be reviewed and revamped to ensure it meets the needs of the diverse and ever-changing ICT sector, as well as ensuring it is aligned with the objectives of the Government’s draft Digital Strategy 2.0.

“We are also very excited about the Government’s ICT vision and leadership in the form of the draft Strategy and will be ensuring this programme helps address some of the challenges laid out in this document”, Matthews said. “This is just one way the NZCS is taking a leadership role in tackling both the ‘Confidence’ and ‘Digital Potential’ sections of the draft Strategy.”

“To address these issues we need to ensure that New Zealand’s young ICT professionals have the support they need when they enter our exciting and dynamic sector, and a cornerstone to this is mentoring”, Matthews said.

The Mentoring Working Group is made up of the following business and ICT professionals:

* Ray Delany (NZCS Fellow) will Chair the Working Group. Ray owns a successful Auckland-based ICT business employing a number of young ICT professionals;

* Alison Holt (NZCS Fellow) Deputy Chair of the Working Group and Co-Founder and Chief Knowledge Officer of Campus Concrete in Wellington, who has a strong background in Standards work in New Zealand and around the world.

* Stephen Hilson, founder of an Agile training company in Wellington. Steve has a significant and comprehensive background in mentoring delivery.

* Adrian Mageanu, an experienced Business Mentor and Business Analyst based in Christchurch.

* Georgina Workman, a Project Management consultant in Wellington with practice in mentoring programmes.

* Paul Matthews, NZCS Chief Executive and ICT advocate.

“Providing mentoring for young ICT practitioners as they move towards an ICT Professional level is an important example of the work the Society is undertaking on a national level. The NZCS will be embarking on a number of other initiatives shortly to ensure barriers to entry into ICT are removed for our professionals of tomorrow, and to encourage the best and the brightest in the country to consider a career in ICT”, Matthews concluded.

ENDS

About the NZ Computer Society

The NZCS is the professional body of ICT professionals in New Zealand, and achieves its mission of increasing the professionalism of the NZ ICT industry via a range of initiatives. The Society’s membership includes a large number of senior ICT figures in New Zealand, as well as corporate partnership with many of the most successful ICT organisations in New Zealand.

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