The Otago Daily Times received information last month which revealed the digital/information technology department of the mega-polytechnic will undergo a restructure proposal
About 400 staff across the country are affected by this — all digital/information technology staff.
Te Pūkenga chief digital officer Teresa Pollard confirmed the process this week.
"Te Pūkenga has proposed a new structure for its digital team and is consulting kaimahi (staff) on this," Ms Pollard said.
"The proposed structure presents a unified digital function aimed at offering consistent, cost-effective, and responsive high-quality digital services to students, employers and kaimahi.
"It aims to make the most of our scale and the benefits that brings."
Staff who contacted the Otago Daily Times on the grounds of anonymity were sceptical about the latest digital restructure.
"It looks like this restructure will lead to another restructure in 2024," a staff member said.
Ms Pollard said there were no proposed cutting of any positions, and proposed recruitment processes for new positions were open to all Te Pūkenga staff.
Consultation started on October 25 and runs until November 17.
Tertiary Education Union organiser Daniel Benson-Guiu said he had seen the proposal and had discussed it with members.
He was pleased no staff would be cut.
"The digital department was already extensively reviewed earlier this year," Mr Benson-Guiu said.
"I think this is an example of Te Pūkenga building towards a more cohesive structure."
Mr Benson-Guiu said there was a need for the mega-polytechnic to invest heavily in the digital space.
"This is not just what we know as IT service, but also cybersecurity and networking and developing digital platforms," he said.
Te Pūkenga was created through the merger of the country’s 16 institutes of technology and polytechnics and since its creation in 2020, it has gone through several restructures.
