Career development and training – Where to next?

Āpōpō President, Nicola Chisnall

Manager, Strategic Asset Management, Ara Poutama

I grew up in a family full of teachers, and for most of my childhood I was absolutely certain of one thing: I was not going to be a teacher!

But as it turns out, something must have rubbed off. I’ve discovered over the years that I’m genuinely passionate about learning, development, and helping more people choose asset management as a career – while also lifting capability across our profession.

Through my involvement with Āpōpō (and its predecessor), I’ve spent a lot of time involved in the training side of things. And on a personal note, I’ve always been keen to keep developing my own skills too.

I’ve worked in asset management for more than 20 years. During that time, I’ve completed a range of training including in‑house courses on topics like Levels of Service and Risk. About twelve years ago, I also completed the NZ Diploma in Infrastructure Asset Management. More recently, I’ve been working through Āpōpō digital badges.

My degree meant I could apply for engineering chartership, so I went through Engineering New Zealand’s process and became a Chartered Professional Engineer. But a few years later, when it came time to renew, I made the call not to continue – mainly because the chartership wasn’t really aligned to the asset management work I was doing. At that point I remember thinking: what’s next for my professional development, especially in asset management?

Over the last couple of years, the Āpōpō staff team – along with past and present Board members – has been working hard to answer that exact question. We’ve been focused on how to grow asset management as a recognised career pathway, and how to build capability, capacity, and professional recognition along the way.

One of the real strengths of asset management is the diversity of backgrounds and experience our people bring. So it was important to create pathways that reflect that diversity. I’m proud to say the Āpōpō team has done exactly that.

Āpōpō now offers a clear career pathway and a Professional Practice Accreditation framework. This includes associate‑level recognition for those earlier in their careers, right through to the new (and very exciting!) Asset Management Chartered Professional accreditation.

As part of this accreditation programme, Āpōpō can now award international accreditations on behalf of the World Partners in Asset Management (WPiAM) at five different levels, depending on your experience. These are internationally recognised – and Āpōpō is currently the only organisation in the world able to award all of the global certification levels. Pretty impressive for little Aotearoa and Āpōpō!

And here’s a bonus for engineers: following the development of the Āpōpō accreditation pathway, Asset Management Engineering is now a recognised practice area for Engineering Chartership.

Looking at my own learning journey, I can finally see a meaningful pathway for continuing my development and getting professional recognition for the work I’ve been doing in asset management. I recently completed the Advanced Asset Management Certificate, which blends digital badges with interactive webinars. My next goal is to work towards becoming an Asset Management Chartered Professional – and gaining international accreditation too. Anyone want to join me?

Of course, there are other training options available across Aotearoa. What you choose really depends on your preferred learning style. I may be a little biased, but I think Āpōpō offers a great mix of flexible learning methods, options to suit different budgets, and to top it off internationally recognised accreditation while still reflecting our Aotearoa context.

If you (or your team) are interested in asset management learning or career development, I’d really encourage you to get in touch with the Āpōpō team. There are always options to make training work for you.

One thing we’ve done (at Ara Poutama) within our Asset Management Directorate is partner with Āpōpō to develop our own tailored digital badge. It builds on the AM101 badge but includes specific information about our work – like how we operate, our Asset Management Policy, our Strategic Asset Management Plan, and other key documents. Every new team member completes this when they start. It gives them a solid introduction to the department, the directorate, and how we work, and it helps lift our overall capability from day one. It’s a great way to get people up to speed before they dive into their core work.

If you ever have questions about training, accreditation, or anything related, the Āpōpō team is always happy to help.

Otherwise, see you at Congress in Kirikiriroa!