Venture taranaki annual report

6

[Re]

connect

Taranaki’s economy creates career 

opportunities across a wide range  

of industries.

[Re]

turn

Home is where the heart is and where  

your future awaits.  

[Re]

consider

While you’re back in Taranaki this  

summer, reconsider what really matters. 

Find out more about coming back to Taranaki

www.rediscovertaranaki.co.nz

[Re]

discover 

Taranaki

D

espite the challenges faced by two of our core industries, 

skills retention and attraction remained high on the agenda 

for the business community throughout the year, and played 

a critical component in meeting the region’s population target of 

135,000 residents by 2035. 

To support businesses, Venture Taranaki launched the [RE]discover 

Taranaki campaign which targeted the region’s expats and visitors 

with existing connections to the region. Campaign activity was 

focused over the summer period with messaging encouraging 

audiences to reconsider, reconnect and return to Taranaki. The 

emotion-based campaign played on the lifestyle highlights, 

memorable experiences and benefits of residing in the region.

The campaign utilised print media, billboards, radio, digital 

advertising on Stuff and MetService, and direct communications 

to the Kiwi Expats Abroad (KEA) network, with campaign extension 

across our own social media channels. 

The broader campaign was supported by sharing the stories of 

people who have made the move to Taranaki. Throughout the year 

many more case studies were completed and used across our 

promotions.

For former Londoner Dave Pope, one of the biggest benefits of 

life in Taranaki is the time it takes to get to work. “It takes me 

five minutes. In East London it took me at least an hour to get 

anywhere,” Dave says.

It’s a theme that’s common amongst others who have made the 

move to Taranaki, rediscovering the meaning of lifestyle in the 

process. “There’s just so much time here,” says former Brazilian 

Leandro Fossa. “There’s no traffic so the lifestyle is much better. It 

feels like there are 30 hours in each day.”

“New Plymouth, and Taranaki in general, has an exceptional range 

of things to do,” says Tonya Callebaut, who moved to Taranaki with 

her family from South Africa. “Accessibility to after-school activities 

is so easy that kids have the opportunity to participate in many 

more things.”

This ease of living seems to have a positive impact on work/life 

balance as a result. “The balance between work and life here is 

amazing,” says German Babette Khilan, whose three-week visit to 

New Zealand became permanent when she discovered Taranaki.

To help more people make the move to Taranaki, the 

comprehensive 50-page Lifestyle Toolkit was updated and 

republished, spanning housing to health, education to 

entertainment, and immigration to industries.

Skills retention is also a critical element in the growth strategy, and 

the team responded to a number of events to help with maintaining 

skills in the region. For example, when Foodstuffs announced the 

closure of Hawera’s New World supermarket in late July, with 

the loss of 54 jobs, Venture Taranaki moved quickly to develop a 

targeted job-hunting resource for the affected staff.

ATTRACTING SKILLS AND POPULATION

The [Re]discover Taranaki campaign targeted visiting expats and their networks over summer.

VENTURE TARANAKI ANNUAL REPORT 2015

7

F

irst conducted in 1998, the Trust’s 6-monthly Taranaki 

Business Survey presents one of the longest running regional 

intelligence products available to decision makers. 

Two editions of the survey were again conducted this year, opening 

with a set of questions around economic outlook that have been 

measured consistently since inception. Standard questions cover 

outlook for the coming twelve months at national, industry and 

sales levels. Business concerns are also polled, providing useful 

trend data, and insight into labour and skill availability and demand. 

Surveys found that outlook tightened considerably over the year, 

with those expecting national conditions to deteriorate climbing 

from 7 to 24 percent over the year, while industry-level pessimism 

grew from 8 to 22 percent over the same period. While both are still 

outweighed by expectations of positive growth or the status quo, the 

survey provides a reminder that things are more subdued amongst 

the region’s business community than at the start of the year. 

Special topics this year included the impacts upgrades to State 

Highway 3 could deliver to local businesses, and inquiry into the 

factors that influence businesses’ decisions to base themselves 

or remain in Taranaki – family, lifestyle and passion for the region 

ranked strongly. 

Business impacts of cellular coverage blackspots around the 

region’s state highway network were also polled, along with views 

and uptake of Ultra-Fast Broadband by the region’s businesses – 

both questions provided valuable data to support regional efforts to 

secure greater central government funding for each.

Survey results were delivered at stakeholder briefings, media 

briefings and through advertising. Full results are available on the 

Business.Taranaki.info website. 

BUSINESS SURVEYS

C

ritical ingredients in successful regional development 

are strong connections to the rest of New Zealand and 

to international markets. As an export-driven economy, 

Taranaki’s goods and services are moved in and out of Taranaki by 

road, rail, sea, air and electronically.

Venture Taranaki played a role in supporting the development 

across all these infrastructural facets to help the local business 

community overcome any geographic barriers. 

During the financial year, Venture Taranaki assisted New Plymouth 

Airport with its strategic development plans including its terminal 

redevelopment project. 

The Trust worked with Port Taranaki and a group of local importers 

and exporters looking to get a container shipping service reinstated 

at the port. Discussions with regard to this opportunity are ongoing. 

We worked with the New Zealand Transport Agency and Taranaki 

Regional Council, providing information to assist the business case 

for greater development of State Highway 3 north of the region, 

building on an economic impact report we completed in 2012.

New Plymouth, Stratford and South Taranaki District Councils were 

supported with their registrations of interest for a new Mobile Black 

Spot Fund and a second round of funding for Ultrafast Broadband 

and the Rural Broadband Initiative.

Venture Taranaki also supported New Plymouth District Council 

as it developed its “Blueprint” spatial plan for the District. The 

Blueprint summarises how the District could develop over the next 

30 years including infrastructure requirements.

INFRASTRUCTURE 

The impact of upgrades to SH3 north of Taranaki was polled in 

the Business Survey.

New Plymouth Airport is looking to expand over the coming year.

VENTURE TARANAKI ANNUAL REPORT 2015

8

S

tratford business Adan Larsen Builders has been trading for 11 

years, and over that time has built a strong reputation in both 

residential and commercial building throughout Taranaki.

Adan and Kelly Larsen approached Venture Taranaki for support 

with financial planning and HR processes and systems, as they felt 

they needed to develop their skills as they tender for new contracts, 

and look to grow their eight-strong team.

After completing a thorough business analysis with one of VT’s 

business advisors, Adan and Kelly teamed up with Staples Rodway 

for a coaching programme that covered financial, strategic and 

human resource management. The programme was part funded 

through New Zealand Trade & Enterprise Capability Development 

Vouchers. 

Building on their new capabilities, Adan and Kelly have involved 

their staff in the vision and strategy of the business, gaining 

local recognition with a Service Award at Stratford’s annual 

Romeo Awards.

“We strive to be great employers and ensure we take time 

out to celebrate success, embrace technology, have open 

communications and take time to work out how staff like to learn  

as well as recognising weaknesses and strengths and supporting 

them with this,” Adan says.

Adan and Kelly have now set up a new workshop in central 

Stratford, and the increased profile has helped increase business. 

“With help from Venture Taranaki we have been able to focus 

on what is important and how to prioritise to help us on our way 

to achieving our end goal and vision”. 

The financial coaching has highlighted areas of strength as well as 

opportunities for improvement and business growth. Adan and 

Kelly have also learned a lot about recruitment, and are focussed on 

continuous improvement in all areas, including health, safety and 

quality systems, planning and workflow. 

“Constant monitoring in these areas allows us to run the business 

more effectively – we have valued the support from Venture 

Taranaki as a sounding board and the additional accountability with 

coaching and training has helped keep us on track”.

This year 225 Capability Development Vouchers with a total 

value of $341,444 were issued by Venture Taranaki, through our 

partnership with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. Of these, 29.37 

percent were allocated to businesses in the agriculture, forestry 

and fishery industry, and 26.71 percent to businesses within the 

manufacturing sector. 

Complete business coaching was in demand, with 24.36 percent 

of voucher recipients undertaking this programme, while 23.89 

percent gained health and safety training, and 16.74 percent 

marketing training. 

CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT VOUCHERS

Capability Development Voucher recipients Adan and Kelly Larsen.

Capability Development 

Vouchers issued worth 

$341,444

225

VENTURE TARANAKI ANNUAL REPORT 2015

9

I

nternational education is big business. In 2014 there were 110,198 

international students in New Zealand, and the sector was worth 

a total of $2.85 billion – up $258 million on 2013 – and supported 

30,230 jobs. The Trust developed a strategy this year to grow 

Taranaki’s slice of the industry, diversifying the regional economy.

Under the masthead of Study Taranaki, the International Education 

Taranaki collective of the region’s leading education institutions 

formed to deliver the six initiatives outlined in the strategy.

In March 2015, Venture Taranaki launched the Study Taranaki brand, 

alongside the Make a Smart Move Campaign. The brand and logo 

were designed to work in with both the ENZ Think New branding, 

and the regional Taranaki Like No Other branding. 

Building on the brand, Venture Taranaki created a printed brochure, 

providing information about the region and about the organisations 

that form the cluster. This brochure was distributed at the ANZA 

conference in Auckland in April, where the region was represented 

by Venture Taranaki, and three of our providers – WITT, New 

Plymouth Girls’ High School and Francis Douglas Memorial College.

The event saw a high level of agent interaction, with regional 

alternatives to Auckland in demand. Taranaki’s low level of 

international students, lifestyle attractiveness and agricultural 

sector links were seen as positives.

Following the conference, the collective hosted a regional 

familiarisation tour by five agents from Taiwan and Vietnam. 

Feedback from the agents was extremely positive and identified a 

number of further opportunities which the collective is exploring to 

help grow the market.

STUDY TARANAKI

T

he Trust’s annual client satisfaction survey for the 2014 – 

2015 year indicated a high level of satisfaction with Venture 

Taranaki’s services and staff, as well as a high likelihood of 

clients returning to Venture Taranaki in the future. The survey found:

•  91.2 percent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied 

with Venture Taranaki business services, up from 90.2 percent 

previous year

•  94.9 percent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with 

Venture Taranaki staff, up from 93.9 percent

•  94.5 percent of respondents were likely or highly likely to use 

Venture Taranaki services again, up from 93.5 percent

The Trust’s three most valued services were seen as the NZTE 

Capability Development Voucher scheme and capability 

assessments, business advisory services for existing businesses 

and business start-up services.

“The person assisting me with my business plan understood 

me and my business concept, was highly attentive, and 

made me feel important and valued. She believed in me and 

my business.”

“Excellent prompt reply to website query. Great, friendly, 

warm service over phone and in person.”

“Very dedicated, active staff.”

“Very impressed with the research done by the staff and 

their great communication.”

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

International education agents visit Taranaki.

satisfaction with Trust staff

94.9%

The annual client satisfaction survey provides valuable feedback.

VENTURE TARANAKI ANNUAL REPORT 2015

10

T

here’s no doubt about it, New Plymouth always hums with 

lots to see and do, especially on the event front. Venture 

Taranaki is a key supporter of many of the larger events that 

occur in the district through its administration of the New Plymouth 

District Council’s Major Events Fund.

Events not only benefit residents but also bring many visitors to 

the region who then contribute to our local economy, vibrancy 

and national profile. This year, the Bowl of Brooklands once again 

resonated to the sound of high profile international artists as Sting 

and Paul Simon took to the stage in their On Stage Together tour, 

playing to a crowd of over 10,000 fans who were able to sing along 

with many classic hits.

Long before the 31 January concert by music legends Sting and 

Paul Simon was announced at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands, Venture 

Taranaki was developing advertising to promote the event  

around the country, including a comprehensive sub-site on  

www.taranaki.info to build numbers at the Bowl.

AmeriCARna returned to the region in February with a shorter event 

under the wing of the Taranaki Vehicle Events Trust. Throngs of 

people around the mountain thrilled to the sound of the V8 engine 

as the huge variety of American cars drove past, culminating in New 

Plymouth’s city centre on Friday night and ‘parking up’ the following 

day for closer inspection. AmeriCARna is now being presented on 

an annual basis which is great news for car enthusiasts and the 

general public alike.

Like AmeriCARna, the Steelformers Around the Mountain Relay 

circumnavigates our most iconic feature. The 150km run/walk sees 

EVENTS: WHAT’S THE BUZZ…

Events attract visitors, raise the region’s profile and help make Taranaki a great place to live.

major events were 

contracted this year 

from the New Plymouth 

District Council Major 

Events Fund

teams of 10-16 circle the mountain over a 22 hour period, and this 

year 2,000 people took up the challenge. Ten solo runners also took 

it on – John Bayne from Dunedin completing the event in 15 hours 11 

minutes smashing the previous record by almost an hour.

Another of our icons is our surf, and the New Zealand Home loans 

Surf Festival again successfully showcased this aspect of Taranaki’s 

legendary lifestyle. Incorporating events from the Fisher and 

Paykel Easter Masters and the Rip Curl Grom Search through to 

the Port Taranaki Pro – The World Surf League Womens Qualifying 

Series event, the festival took place over two weeks from March 

21 to April 6. The festival drew 7,000 spectators, with WSL events 

gaining extensive TV, radio, newspaper and online coverage across 

Australia, USA, Hawaii, New Zealand, Japan, Peru, UK, France and 

throughout Asia.

Major events continue to play an important role in the region’s 

competitiveness and to showcase Taranaki and its lifestyle to 

audiences outside the region.

10

VENTURE TARANAKI ANNUAL REPORT 2015

11

T

he world’s third-most watched sporting event, the FIFA 

Under-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015 was undeniably the 

highlight of the year. A major event as defined by the MEMA 

(Major Event Management Act), the lead-up to the World Cup 

involved many gruelling hours of preparation to ensure everything 

ran smoothly over the region’s six match programme.

Stadium Taranaki was the scene for five pool games and one round 

of 16 match as Brazil, Hungary, Korea DPR, Nigeria and Uruguay 

battled it out to move onto the next round. Many foreign accents 

were heard throughout the city as New Plymouth welcomed ex-

pats from around New Zealand and overseas who travelled here to 

support their countries in any way possible. Drums, instruments, 

singing and colourful costumes all made for a great atmosphere in 

the stadium where spectators could support the football stars of 

the future in action.

Brazilian media were out in force indicating their expectations 

for their team which ultimately took out second place, losing to 

Senegal in the Auckland final.

New Plymouth once again proved its ability to host events is second 

to none in the country and is rightfully considered to be a city that 

always exceeds expectations – a sentiment wholly endorsed by an 

enthusiastic visitor:

FIFA U-20 WORLD CUP NEW ZEALAND 2015

Stadium Taranaki was again home to a world class sporting tournament this year.

“The Naki is looking incredible, worthy of international 

sports. Good on you Taranaki, you might be out on a limb but 

you are heads above the big cities” – Gwen, California 

In addition to the bid to secure the event, Venture Taranaki ran a 

comprehensive event website under the www.taranaki.info banner, 

hosted international media, maintained a presence at the event’s 

official media centre throughout the tournament, developed an 

extensive range of marketing material and supported the event 

through the New Plymouth District Council’s Major Events Fund.

The event was further promoted through a national visitor 

campaign to ensure that even where people didn’t attend the event 

in Taranaki, they knew that the region was playing a major role in 

hosting this world-class event.

Round 1 matches and 1 

Round of 16 match played 

at Stadium Taranaki

5

VENTURE TARANAKI ANNUAL REPORT 2015

12

V

enture Taranaki’s range of visitor industry guidebooks have 

received acclaim from Regional Tourism Organisations 

around the country, and continue to be a popular addition to 

both our visitor and lifestyle attraction campaigns. 

During the year we completely updated the Museums and Galleries 

Guide, now up to its third edition, and made minor amendments to 

the fifth edition of the Walker’s Guide and the third edition of the 

Parks and Gardens Guide, both of which had multiple reprints to 

keep up with demand. 

The Surf Highway 45 Touring Route Guide was also reprinted, while 

a comprehensive update of the Forgotten World Highway Touring 

Route Guide was initiated with extensive consultation with tourism 

operators along the route – the first time they had been brought 

together as a group. 

“I just had three awesome days in Taranaki with my kids over 

the school holidays and wanted to feed back how fantastic 

your visitor guides were for planning our activities/trips, etc. 

The Must Do one was really helpful for hitting the highlights 

in a condensed timeframe, and the Surf Highway one was 

great when heading south on our way home. Well done – 

best publications I’ve seen anywhere and certainly doing 

the job well of promoting your region and making it easy for 

people to explore and enjoy it!” – Dave Rhodes-Robinson

Building on the Trust’s function as a signpost for an incredibly 

varied range of enquiries, we also extended our range of 

comprehensive toolkits over the year. 

The Lifestyle Toolkit, containing everything a potential new Taranaki 

resident could need to get here and settle in, was updated during 

the year. A new Employer Toolkit was also developed, bringing 

together resources to help Taranaki businesses find the expert 

information they need to manage the people in their business. With 

chapters spanning Find, Keep, Grow and Let Go, the toolkit covers 

the full spectrum of human resources support. 

These toolkits join the Event Toolkit – which supports the 

conference and corporate event market – and the Business Toolkit, 

a comprehensive guide to accessing business growth services and 

resources. Toolkits were extensively distributed in both print and 

digital formats.