Open Polytechnic and Fly Buys partnership an Australasian first

New Zealand businesses wanting to upskill staff and increase productivity during the recession can take advantage of an Australasian first by redeeming Fly Buys Points for courses at the Open Polytechnic.

Andy Symons, chief executive of Loyalty NZ, which manages Fly Buys, says the partnership is a major development in the Fly Buys for Business programme launched late last year, and which now has 100,000 small and medium businesses as members.

“We’ve been listening to our members and this is a response to the feedback they have given us during this difficult economic climate. The partnership will allow people to gain knowledge that will help them to develop their businesses and up skill their staff.”

NZ’s Open Polytechnic, which has on average 30,000 students a year enrolled in distance learning, is the first educational institution in Australasia to join a loyalty programme as a rewards provider.

“The Open Polytechnic is an innovative organisation which is always looking at ways we can make learning options more flexible for people who want to up skill themselves for either their current career, or their next job,” says Amanda Malu, executive director of marketing for the Open Polytechnic.

“Our partnership with Fly Buys offers an alternative way for people to fund their studies, and in turn make it easier to access the learning they need to progress their careers.”

Andy Hamilton, CEO of business growth centre, The Icehouse, says that during the recession more companies are looking to form non-traditional partnerships.

“An educational organisation and a loyalty programme may not be an obvious partnership. However we see it as a sign of NZ businesses starting to take a more lateral approach to growth and working more collegially to attracting new customers, when economic times are tough. This could actually be one of the benefits we see as a result of the recession.”

The Open Polytechnic offer covers 1,250 of its courses, and includes topics ranging from business management and communication to psychology and web design. The organisation is also internationally recognised for excellence in distance learning.