Buckley Systems, a Competenz workplace training employer, believes qualifications aren't simply about teaching new skills. They're about recognising existing capability, giving global customers confidence in the people behind the work, and creating pathways for employees to keep growing.

When manufacturers invest in training, it's often to equip employees with new skills.

Buckley Systems sees it a little differently. For the Auckland-based manufacturer of particle accelerator technology used in cancer treatment, semiconductor manufacturing and scientific research, qualifications are increasingly about recognising the capability employees already possess while creating opportunities for them to keep growing.

Assembly Technician Maika (Mike) McMath is living proof.

Mike, 50, has worked in hospitality, laid carpet and completed several IT qualifications. Learning has always been part of his life, but the New Zealand Certificate in Manufacturing (Level 2) is the first time an employer has invested in recognising the skills he has developed on the job.

"I feel absolutely at home here," he says.

"I'm valued here as an employee. The company wants to invest in my future. I feel like I have found my forever job."

It wasn't a straight path to manufacturing, but one he believes led him to where he belongs.

Rather than teaching entirely new skills, the qualification formalised the expertise Mike already applies every day. Much of the written assessment asks employees to compare nationally recognised manufacturing practices with the work they carried out on the workshop floor.

"The questions were mostly based on what we were already doing," he says.

"It was more comparing what we do with what's in the book rather than copying and pasting answers."

Completing much of the learning at work meant answers were never far away.

"If I came across something I didn't know, I just looked around my work area or asked the people I was working with. It was really easy and really straightforward."

Collaboration, sharing knowledge and solving problems together is part of life at Buckley Systems.

Today, Mike's favourite work involves assembling complex assemblies used within Buckley Systems' electromagnets. Assembling one takes around an hour once the preparation work has been completed. It's intricate work where quality matters far more than speed.

"It's making sure everything is in its right place, functioning appropriately, everything's labelled correctly and everything is assembled in the correct process," he says.

That commitment to quality is one reason Buckley Systems. has earned the confidence of customers around the world.

For Learning and Development Business Partner Lewis Peart, nationally recognised qualifications don't replace experience - they recognise it.

"For most of it, especially at this level, it's really about qualifying the things people already know and the things they're already doing, and making sure they're recognised to an industry standard," he says.

"They get a qualification they can be proud of, and we can demonstrate to our customers that we've got qualified people carrying out the work. It's a win-win."

Competenz Account Manager Debs says Buckley Systems’ approach demonstrates what can happen when workforce development is treated as a long-term business strategy rather than a series of individual training programmes.

The partnership now spans the New Zealand Certificate in Manufacturing (Level 2), New Zealand Certificate in Distribution (Level 3), New Zealand Certificate in Business (First Line Management-Level 3), and Lean Competitive Systems and Processes qualifications. Around 30 employees are currently undertaking Competenz-supported programmes across Buckley Systems’ workforce of approximately 550 employees and contractors.

Working alongside Lewis and the Learning and Development team, Debs helps identify workforce needs and opportunities to extend nationally recognised learning across the business, ensuring training supports both employee development and Buckley Systems' long-term capability goals.

"The Learning and Development team has built strong relationships across the organisation and is continually seeking opportunities to recognise and reward staff through learning and development," she says.

"As soon as Lewis became aware of our Distribution qualifications, he engaged the warehouse manager and explored how the programme could support their team. That proactive approach reflects a genuine commitment to developing talent across all areas of the business.

"Many employees working in manufacturing environments may not have previously achieved a formal qualification, often having left school early or entered the workforce through practical experience. It's important not to underestimate the sense of achievement, confidence and self-belief that gaining a workplace qualification can inspire - not only for the individual learner, but also among their colleagues."

Lewis says the qualification also creates opportunities for what's next.

"Someone completes Level 2, then decides they'd like to do an apprenticeship or another qualification," Lewis says. "It opens up opportunities to keep developing."

While Buckley Systems develops much of its technical capability internally, Lewis says partnering with Competenz for training brings significant value.

"We do a lot ourselves," he says.

"But training is different because it ties what we're doing back to nationally recognised standards. It gives the programmes extra structure and gives our people qualifications that are recognised beyond Buckley Systems.

"Competenz work-based training programmes are affordable and flexible. They allow us to recognise the capability people already have while continuing to build it."

For Mike, the qualification has done more than acknowledge the skills he's built over six years.

It's reinforced that he works for an employer willing to invest in the people behind the products.

"If the opportunity came up," he says, "I'd definitely look at doing Level 4."

It's exactly the outcome Buckley Systems hopes for.

Because while qualifications recognise where people are today, their real value lies in where they can take them next.

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