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Regional Business Partners Waikato

RBP is a government initiative targeted at businesses that have the potential to innovate and grow and is designed to support business owners to take the next step to grow their business and to export.  Partially subsidised training and coaching services may be available and can be accessed through a voucher system.



Opportunity Hamilton’s role is to:
  • Provide advice, information and business assistance
  • Facilitate the relationships between businesses
  • Manage the RBP Scheme

Businesses are eligible if they meet the following criteria:

  • Have fewer than 50 full time employees (a person working 30 hours or more per week is considered full time);
  • Are operating in a commercial environment;
  • Are registered for GST in NZ;
  • Are personally owned by an individual or individuals; or are a Maori Trust or incorporation under the Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 or similar organization managing Maori assets under multiple ownership; and
  • Have undergone a capability assessment with Opportunity Hamilton

The Steps in the Process
There are six steps in the process

  1. Registration of the client business
  2. Assessment of their capability and identification of training needs by Opportunity Hamilton
  3. Development of an action plan by Opportunity Hamilton
  4. Issue of a voucher for capability building services
  5. Validation of the voucher with the Capability Service Provider
  6. Follow up with businesses

Business owners will need to:

  • Complete a Registration form which is available from the Regional Business Partner
  • Participate in a one-on-one assessment with Opportunity Hamilton to assess the level of management capability, to identify gaps and to identify any training or coaching needs

Opportunity Hamilton will then:

  • Develop an action plan for the business owner which will:
    - Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the business
    - Identify the priority areas for improvement
    - Specify action points (as agreed with the client)
  • Identify other business assistance available including organisations to contact and websites for additional information, advice and resources.
  • Provide referrals to relevant government organisations as relevant (eg Ministry of Science and Innovation, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Export NZ, Business Mentors NZ)
  • May issue a voucher to a specified limit for capability development which may be either training and/or one-on-one coaching or mentoring

Vouchers

  • The Regional Business Partner has the discretion to determine the value of vouchers up to a cap of $5000 (excluding GST) in any year
  • Vouchers cover up to 50% of the cost of the course, workshop or coaching session.
  • The business owner must provide matching funding of 50% of the value of the capability development service
  • Only the business owner and their key managers are eligible for vouchers.
  • Vouchers have an expiry date of three calendar months from date of issue.  The expiry date refers to the date by which a voucher must have been used to book a service.  (Note:  The service itself does not need to be provided within the three months).
  • A Capability Service Provider will validate the voucher with Opportunity Hamilton so a track can be kept of whether a business is acting on their action plan

Assessment Criteria for Issue of Vouchers
In considering if a business owner qualifies for a voucher, the following Assessment Criteria will be taken into account:

  • The potential of the business for growth and innovation
  • Commitment from the business to improving management capability
  • There is an identified gap in the business’s capability that can be addressed through management capability building and training.
  • Relevance to the region and the regional economy

Follow up
Opportunity Hamilton will follow up with any business which has received an assessment or has been issued a voucher to ascertain if their training needs are being met by the Capability Service Providers, if they are able to take the actions identified in their action plans and to identify any changing needs.

For further information and to register with the scheme, contact:

Robyn Robertson – robyn@rbpwaikato.co.nz   phone 959 8693 or

Novell Gopal– novell@rbpwaikato.co.nz   phone 959 8693

Click here to download a registration form.
 Hamilton is New Zealand’s largest inland city, and 4th largest urban area.  Hamilton is on the main tourist route between Auckland and Taupo. Hamilton is the heart of the Waikato.  Hamilton has a land area of 98.6 km2 (New Zealand's smallest city in terms of land area).  The average age in Hamilton is 31.3 years compared to 35.9 years nationally.  Hamilton has a youthful population - around half of residents are under 30 years old.  New Zealand European makes up three quarters of the population, and Maori 19%.  Hamilton is home to more than 80 ethnic groups from 65 countries.  Over half of all New Zealanders (53 percent) were living in four main urban areas (Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, and Christchurch) at 30 June 2009.  As at February 2008 there were 12,476 small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Hamilton. This figure accounted for 94% of the total number of businesses in Hamilton.  SMEs contribution to employment in Hamilton stands at 33% which equates to 25,810 employees.  The growth of SMEs in Hamilton city between 2000 and 2008 was 31% which is above the 25% percent growth recorded in the rest of New Zealand over the same time period.  Hamilton is the home of the mighty Chiefs and Waikato rugby teams and the 26,000 capacity Waikato Stadium.  Construction of the $1 billion Waikato Expressway, including design work on the Hamilton bypass, is underway