Waikato Business News December 2017/January 2018

34 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS December 2017/January 2018
Developing the next generation of Kiwi chefs
When 26 Waikato high school cookery
teachers donned their aprons to become
students for a day at Wintec, the heat was
on to bring up their cookery skills to pass
on to their students.
Chair of the local HET-
ANZ (Home Economics
Teachers Association of
New Zealand) Heather Dixon,
worked with Wintec hospitality
team manager Peter Radojkovich
to organise the day.
She says opportunities for intensive
training are invaluable
and respond to the shortage of
tech and cookery teachers by
upskilling other teachers who
now teach these subjects.
“Going to Wintec is the best
day of the year for our teachers.
“There is a serious shortage
of teachers in this field and we
now have a mix of ‘old school’
home economics teachers and
new ones who are trained in
other subject areas.
“We want higher level
learning and these learning
days help pull everyone up
to the same level. They set a
benchmark and set standards,
and this sets a standard for our
students.”
Heather, a Cambridge High
School teacher for more than
40 years, sees the value of
teaching practical skills like
cookery as essential to pathway
careers and encourage
cooking as a positive lifestyle
choice.
“At a secondary school level
we are helping students who
want to become tomorrow’s
chefs more workplace ready –
if they are well prepared they
get an edge in the workplace.
“It might not be their career,
it might be the job that gets
them to where they want to be,
and many will work in hospitality
to fund their studies.
“We’re also seeing a new
generation of students whose
parents don’t know how to
cook and they don’t know
where their food comes from.
By learning cookery at school,
our students go home and
make a meal from real ingredients
and often discover it can
be faster than cooking from
packets.”
Wintec’s Peter Radojkovich
and Shannon Katipa are
passionate about developing
relationships with the region’s
high schools and say training
the teachers has far-reaching
A highlight for me was
seeing the teamwork
and networking
developing between
schools, and the looks
on their faces when
they sat down to eat
the lunch they had
just prepared.
benefits.
“These training days develop
the relationship we have
with our schools in the Waikato
area by addressing the need
for teachers to upskill,” says
Peter.
“It was awesome to see 26
teachers take up the opportunity,
it was a fun day, everyone
enjoyed themselves and gained
new skills and a better understanding
of cookery.
“I’m hopeful that the skills
and knowledge they take away
will also assist these teachers
in developing the next generation
of kiwi chefs.”
The upskilling day attracted
teachers from Hamilton, Tauranga,
Mt Maunganui, Tongariro,
Te Awamutu, Te Kuiti,
Matamata and Cambridge.
Shannon tutored the teachers
through the intricacies of
hollandaise, escalopes and
consommé.
“A highlight for me was
seeing the teamwork and networking
developing between
schools, and the looks on their
faces when they sat down to
eat the lunch they had just prepared.”
Cambridge High School teachers from left, Aimee
Findon, Sara Paris and Roey Gluyas enjoying a
teacher training day at Wintec.
“The biggest message I
have for teachers is to always
have fun, love what you do.
That energy will rub off on the
students and the experience
will become more authentic.”
As well as teaching the
teachers, Wintec School of
Hospitality also opens its doors
to hundreds of tertiary and secondary
school students who
compete in Culinary Fare in
July. This annual cookery competition
attracts high school
teams from across the North
Island. This year saw record
entries with more than 510 entries.
Waikato Diocesan School
for Girls took out the Waikato
Top School Award, while Te
Awamutu College took home
the National Secondary School
Culinary Challenge Team
Award.
Engagement ring - who gets
it when a relationship is over?
ASK A LAWYER
> BY KARIN THOMAS
Karin Thomas, runs her own practice, Karin Thomas Lawyer.
Contact Karin at karin@karinthomas.co.nz or 07 974 4808,
or visit www.karinthomas.co.nz
Getting engaged is a special
time for a couple.
It’s not only a romantic
moment, marking a
commitment for a shared future,
but a time of joy and love.
A sparkly diamond engagement
ring, traditionally
gifted at the time of proposal
from one person to another, is
a symbolic piece of jewellery
which represents the promise
of love.
It can also be an expensive
gesture. In the US, the
average amount spent on an
engagement ring is US$6163
(NZ$9000), according to The
Knot 2016 Real Weddings
Study. In some cases, it’s much
more.
But what happens, if, down
the track, things turn sour?
Who gets to keep the engagement
ring? Does the giver have
the right to ask for the ring’s
return?
It’s not something that most
people want to think about but
I’ve seen my share of bust ups
and litigation around gifts.
When people are in love
and feeling warm towards each
other, gifts are often given
freely. These gifts cannot be
claimed back later, if feelings
change.
In legal terms a gift-giver is
called ‘the donor’ and the recipient
is ‘the donee’. The law
is very clear that a gift is a gift,
The donee does not have to
give back a gift, even when circumstances
or feelings change.
If the ‘gift’ were to come with
conditions, then it would be
legally considered quite differently
– as a loan.
A gift is something given
free of any strings, with no criteria
attached to the gift. It is
given without obligation. Feelings
can shift however if people
feel betrayed or let down,
then they want to claim it back.
However, you can’t really give
someone an engagement ring
and make it conditional.
Unfortunately, in my line
of work, I’ve seen the conflict
Buying an engagement ring is a romantic
gesture but what happens to the ring if
things turn sour? Photo: Scott Webb.
that the break down in relationships
can bring, and my advice
is to not rush into things, and
know the person who they are
gifting to.
In other circumstances,
such as gift of money between
family members, there can also
be a lot of anguish and heartache
later on – if relationships
break down or conflict occurs
– when there is no clear documentation
or understanding of
whether it is a gift or loan.
Talking to a lawyer for advice
can provide clarity. The
simplest way to avoid misunderstanding
is to put things
in writing. People often think
talking to a lawyer is expensive,
but it doesn’t have to be.
The cost often comes if you
don’t involve a lawyer early
on.
Finding meaning beyond profit: NZ hosts summit
Following on the heels of
an international American
Express survey that
confirms the vast majority of
millennials want to change the
business landscape to one that
does good, New Zealand is to
host a summit on the subject in
February.
The theme of the Global
Speakers Summit (GSS) to be
hosted at Sky City in Auckland
in late February –also possibly
the biggest gathering of high
profile influencers in 2018 –
will tackle the subject “From
Leader to Legacy: A Global
Journey”, which deals with
how business can find meaning
beyond just money.
The GSS follows the just
released American Express re-
port, Redefining the C-Suite:
Business the Millennial Way,
which surveyed 1,363 Millennials
and 1,062 Gen Xers in
the United States, United King-
The summit will bring
some of the world’s
leading thinkers
together with local
businesses to discuss
how global business
can leave a legacy for
generations to come.
dom, France and Germany. The
report found that millennials
overwhelmingly want a double
bottom line (profit and purpose)
– and they’re prepared to make
career and income sacrifices to
achieve it.
Susan Sobbott, president
of American Express Global
Commercial Payments said
“Millennials are seeking work
with meaning beyond just making
money, and they’re willing
to make trade-offs to achieve
their own definition of success”.
The GSS is brought to Auckland
by The National Speakers
Association of New Zealand
(NSANZ) to help kick-start the
discussion locally about how
businesses can make a positive
difference for people and the
planet, while also being wellrun
and profitable.
NSANZ's Elias Kanaris,
who is also the President-Elect
of the Global Speakers Federation,
said he has just returned
from a meeting in South Africa
about diversity intelligence
and reconciliation, where it
became clear to him that New
Zealand can help lead much
needed social transformation –
this time in the workplace.
“New Zealand was at the
forefront of the anti-apartheid
and anti-nuclear movements,
and we championed the right
of women to vote. We can do
the same for leading a change
in business attitudes from one
that is focussed on profit at all
costs, to one that places equal
importance and investment in
staff and purposeful business.
The GSS will bring some
of the world’s leading thinkers
together with local businesses
to discuss how global business
can leave a legacy for generations
to come.
New Zealand’s only Global
Speaking Fellow Mike Handcock
will chair GSS 2018,
which will feature speakers
such as female Black Hawk
pilot and combat veteran,
bestselling author Elizabeth
McCormick, Australia’s ‘The
Relationship Guy’ Lindsay
Adams (CSP) and author and
speaker on business creativity
Fredrik Härén who, Forbes
magazine writes, owns multiple
islands where he lets
people stay for free.
The summit in Auckland is
only the fifth worldwide event
to be held since 2000 and is
expected to earn the city more
than $2m in revenue – a considerable
achievement because
Auckland had to be beat out
Monaco, the USA, Germany,
the UK, Australia, Singapore
and Malaysia for the rights.
Part of New Zealand’s business
case was the opportunity
for corporate companies to
purchase a table at GSS 2018,
where those attending will be
treated to stories about triumph
over adversity, meet high profile
thought leaders and learn
how to tell their own compelling
stories, write a book or
succeed in online marketing,
or unravel the mysteries of science,
spirituality and entrepreneurship.