Earlier this year, Statistics NZ collaborated with demographer Arvind Zodgekar, ex-Victoria University, to offer a short course in demography for non-demographers in government agencies.
The objective of the course was to build knowledge of demographic theory and to support the considerable practical demography experience that already exists within many government agencies.
“The two most contemporary issues in New Zealand are our ageing population and the role of immigration,” Arvind said.
“Not long ago, we really only looked at population figures. Now the importance of the changing composition and structure of the population is beginning to be understood.”
“Understanding changes in New Zealand’s population, including citizenship, ethnicity, multiculturalism and age, is important to understanding change in our society and essential to New Zealand policy development,” Arvind said.
Denise McGregor from Statistics NZ says this is an ideal course for anyone involved in policy and planning around people.
“Population underlies almost everything we do in the public sector. The size and structure of the population has implications for future planning in areas including health, education, employment and urban development.”
“The course covers a wide range of demographic issues including population structure, ageing, immigration, ethnic diversity and international comparisons, and looks at the theory supporting it, including standardisations and the technique of population projections,” Denise said.
Paul Satherley from the Ministry of Education attended the two-session course and was impressed with the breadth of issues covered and just how much demographic statistics can affect a population.
“My work involves looking at the composition of students at school and student achievement. Demographic statistics, including births, deaths, migration, life expectancy and ethnic composition, are very important for looking ahead and planning for the needs of our future students.”
“This course has improved my understanding of the effects population issues have on forward planning and how statistics are derived,” Paul said.
The demography course is open to all Official Statistics System (OSS) partners, including officials not working directly with demographic outputs but who use demographic data for their work.
The course will be offered periodically in response to demand. If you are interested in participating contact denise.mcgregor@stats.govt.nz.
Arvind Zodgekar is a recently retired senior lecturer from the School of Social and Cultural Studies at Victoria University. He was involved in teaching courses on demography and research methods. His primary research interests are in the areas of migration, ageing and population policy. He is author of several articles on these topics and a 1997 monograph called Immigrants in New Zealand Society.
Arvind has also been co-editor of the New Zealand Population Review Journal for the past five years. Two years ago he was made a life member of the New Zealand Population Association in recognition of his contribution towards the research, teaching and promotion of demography in New Zealand.