We are carrying out a comprehensive review of water services qualifications and standards. This review supports industry by ensuring these qualifications are fit for purpose for the water sector and that graduates can meet future industry requirements.
The project will involve reviewing the water qualifications listed below, considering any new credentials required (such as standards to support trade-waste training), and developing a set of new skill standards that will be used in place of unit standards in programmes across the reviewed qualification suite.
This review will include the unit standards in the following domains:
We’re excited to share the Water Services Qualification Review Insights Report.
We have completed the Investigative Phase (Stage 1) of the Water Services Qualification Review.
Stage 1 was an opportunity for the sector and providers to tell us what they think about the current suite of qualifications and standards and the development needs across the water services sector.
We sincerely thank everyone who contributed to Stage 1. We’ve prepared an insights report that captures the valuable feedback we received and outlines our recommended actions to address the key topics raised.
Your feedback is crucial to the success of our development work. We want to hear from you about the skills and knowledge required for managing drinking water, wastewater, trade waste and stormwater.
If you have skills in water industry operations and can support skill standard development work, please email Lorraine Moss-Smith, Qualifications Developer.
In December 2024 and March 2025, Waihanga Ara Rau held two discovery workshops to help inform a skills framework for the drinking water, wastewater and trade waste sectors. We have used this feedback to draft a skills framework which outlines which skills should be recognised and how.
In Stage 2, we will work alongside subject matter experts and other stakeholders to review the existing qualifications, develop skill standards and explore new developments that will deliver an improved credential suite for the water services sector.
Stage 2 will begin by seeking further expertise and guidance on the draft skills framework and how it will be translated into a new suite of skills standards to underpin new and reviewed qualifications. This work will commence shortly.
Further work will be needed to define the skills required for stormwater and water network reticulation. This work is expected to be completed by the Industry Skills Board in 2026.
