Warning polytechnics merge and ITO changes will see fewer apprentices

Monday, 1 July 2019

The Government has been warned changes to vocational education will see industries hire fewer apprentices and  fewer people enter training.

But Education Minister Chris Hipkins says this is 'scaremongering'.

Government plans to overhaul the sector include merging 16 polytechnics into a single, centralised New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, and the creation of a unified funding system to encompass both provider-based and work-based learning.

It also wants to redefine roles of industry training organisations (ITOs) to instead establish 'industry skills bodies€'.

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During consultation on the proposals, industry leaders said it would damage the sector and potentially affect consumers as the country's skills shortages became exacerbated.

On Monday, National's tertiary education spokesperson Shane Reti said the polytechnic reforms would disadvantage people wanting to study lower-level work-based programmes, and the number of people in vocational education would decrease.

Reti said that could cause polytechnics to suffer further financial strain. 

However, everyone has been in agreement that there is a need for changes to the 'broken' sector.

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

'The reforms will ensure that there are more apprenticeships and on-the-job training,' Hipkins said on Monday.

The system was not able to keep up with demand, leading to 'huge skills shortages across a large number of industries'.

However, Industry Training Federation chief executive Josh Williams said the changes would unhinge a unified and successful system by forcing employers to work around education providers to upskill on-the-job learners and apprentices.

'Workplace training has to fit around the activity and the schedule of the workplace, or the employer will say, 'No, thank you'.'

ITOs kept workers in touch with the 'real needs' of employers, but the reforms could push students out of the workshop and into the classroom more often.

'That will make our workforce less resilient, less portable, and less able to compete globally.'

Rutherford and Bond Toyota Wellington workshop manager Strat Campbell started out as an apprentice for the company 18 years ago. The company had worked with MITO – an industry training provider – for as long as he could remember.

Whatever happened, employers should be given more information on the changes that were ahead, he said. With multiple dealerships there were at least 15 apprentices in training at the capital's businesses.

'Once they're qualified they know how we run our business,' he said.

But there were downsides, too, for learners who worked long hours and then had to go home and study.

'If you're motivated you can get through it a lot quicker. I guess what is hard, even through MITO, is if you are the type of person who struggles to study, then you can get behind very easily.'

Last week the Minister said at a public service reforms announcement the Government was grappling with the future of work.

'The world of work is changing significantly, and vocational education needs to adapt to stay ahead of these changes.'

He said the system was not equipped to deal with those challenges, adding he was 'excited' about the reforms.