Tim Dacombe-Bird (AWS)
AWS and the NZ government have inked a memorandum of understanding to collaborate and drive innovation and transformation across the economy.
The memorandum provides a foundation for long-term collaboration in areas such as cloud adoption, innovation, advanced digital skills, sustainability, and cyber security, an AWS NZ blog post published today said.
One major focus was helping Kiwis to gain skills to support current and future workforce needs as the adoption of cloud technologies continued.
AWS, which reported $372 million in local sales earlier this month, said it intended to provide cloud training opportunities for 100,000 Kiwis in the next five years through a range of programmes such as AWS Skill Builder, which provides over 600 free, on-demand cloud courses online.
AWS and the government are also collaborating to drive greater diversity in the technology sector by training underrepresented communities such as woman, Māori, and Pasifika through free programmes such as AWS Hāpori Wahine, a four-week initiative for women to build cloud skills, and AWS re/Start, a 12-week programme run by Te Pūkenga, to prepare individuals for cloud jobs.
The recent launch of Cyber Skills Aotearoa would also improve digital literacy and cybersecurity capabilities while the partners have also committed to explore how cloud certifications could be recognised as part of the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) and Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) frameworks.
Under the new MoU, AWS intended to work with the government to identify ways cloud technology can reduce carbon emissions and contribute to the country's sustainability goals.
Amazon had already committed to building a sustainable business, co-founding the Climate Pledge in 2019 to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement schedule.
The cloud division had also committed to powering its new Auckland cloud region fully with renewable energy at launch, and recently announced a global commitment to be water positive by 2030.
Additionally, AWS and the government have jointly committed to identify opportunities for renewable energy and water investment that supported New Zealand’s transition to more sustainable energy sources, and developing technology tools for carbon emissions measurement, reporting and reduction.
“This MoU is another milestone in our long-term commitment to supporting economic and social outcomes across Aotearoa,” said Tim Dacombe-Bird, country manager, public sector at AWS New Zealand.
To support New Zealand’s digital transformation, AWS and the government agreed to increase adoption of cloud services within the public sector in-line with the government’s cloud first policy.
This will include strategic dialogue with the public sector on new technologies, future trends and global best practices as well as educational sessions with regulated industries such as financial services, energy, and telecommunications.
AWS will also work with the Digital Boost programme and Digital Boost Alliance to help small NZ businesses discover the benefits of cloud technology.
On the security front, AWS and the government agreed to collaborate on national cybersecurity priorities and cybersecurity capability development, including exploring activities that support small and medium-sized businesses.
These MoU initiatives build on a number of security projects AWS has already implemented, including working with the New Zealand Government chief information security officer to develop resources for government agencies to securely adopt AWS cloud technology.
AWS began operating in New Zealand in 2013 and today employs more than 150 staff across Auckland and Wellington to support thousands of active customers.
The company's local investments include $7.5 billion to build New Zealand cloud data centres and an Auckland-based AWS local zone.
