Building sector rejects plan to centralise trades training

Friday, 8 March 2019

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Government risks making a shortage of construction workers worse if it pushes through with planned reforms to trades training, its industry training organisation says.

The Government is proposing to combine the country's 16 polytechnics into one single entity, the New Zealand Institution of Skills and Technology.

The new entity would also take over responsibility for the country's apprentices, which would make industry training organisations (ITOs) partially redundant.

The sector as a whole lost $53 million in 2017, and four polytechs – Greymouth's Tai Poutini Polytechnic, Wellington's Whitireia and WelTec, and Unitec in Auckland – together received $100m in Crown bailouts last year.

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Building firms value their relationship with training specialists, BCITO says.

The Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation held a summit in Auckland to discuss the proposal in detail, and to understand from the industry which aspects of the current system are seen as important to hold on to.

Chief executive Warwick Quinn said the feedback from employers was that, while they were open to some aspects of the proposal, they did not want to lose the on-site relationships that had built up with the specialist industry training organisation over many years.

'Today attendees made it clear that they value sector control of both the standard setting and delivery of training. While they appreciate the greater control of the standard-setting under the proposals they are concerned that control of the delivery is at risk.

'They value the relationships they have with their ITOs. Under the current system, our field staff build strong relationships with every individual employer and apprentice. This allows us to customise their learning. In construction, most people learn from mentoring and support. They don't learn from books. This focus needs to be retained in any reforms, and the sector is sceptical how this will work in the new system.'

Quinn said that on-site relationship was seen as non-negotiable.

If the Government tried to push through reforms that removed that, employers would disengage from the process.

'No employers mean no apprentices and you make capacity issues worse.'