What is the Business Education Partnership?
The Business Education Partnership (BEP) initiative was set up by the Asia New Zealand Foundation in 2009. It calls for a greater focus on Asia knowledge, skills and competencies in secondary schools - both to ensure young New Zealanders can compete in the region, and to keep New Zealand’s relationships with Asian countries strong.
This initiative:
- provides a platform for the New Zealand business sector to call on government, schools and education leaders to commit to strategies to support students to become Asia ready.
- increases businesses’ and schools’ understanding of the importance of being prepared for a future with Asia.
Why be involved?
The Asia region is growing faster than any other, has rapidly expanding markets for goods and services, already influences our culture and way of life, and is set to play a major role in world affairs in decades to come. By 2026, one in six New Zealanders will be of Asian descent.
New Zealand’s trade links have an increasingly Asian focus – we have free trade agreements with China, Singapore and Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia, and ASEAN.
New Zealand businesses need people who have the knowledge and skills to excel in doing business in the region. Asia-ready New Zealanders will be:
- comfortable in Asian settings
- able to build connections and relationships across cultures
- able to understand cultural differences
- able to communicate with people who speak different languages.
Who’s it for?
The Business Education Partnership initiative brings together New Zealand companies that are doing business in Asia, business associations, employee organisations and secondary schools.