Apprentice Training New Zealand (ATNZ) has appointed Rebecca Smith to the newly created position of Chief Executive Officer to lead the Group Training Organisation (GTO) organisation into an ‘exciting’ new phase.

ATNZ Board Chairman John Blakey said Smith has a wealth of experience and expertise, vital to leading the GTO which from the beginning of August became a standalone entity, separate from Industry Training Organisation Competenz, with which it has partnered closely since 2010.

ATNZ is the country’s largest employer of apprentices in mechanical engineering and related industries. As a GTO, ATNZ places its 360-plus apprentices into “host” companies where they work and learn their trade.

As well as the separation from Competenz, part of the government’s ongoing Reform of Vocational Education, Blakey said ATNZ has an exciting vision for the future. The GTO will expand to also become a ‘vibrant and commercially independent’ Private Training Establishment within the next two years.