Vocational education and training reform amendment bill passes

“Amendments following feedback received from the sector during the select committee process and from my colleagues in the House will make the Bill more effective in achieving the Government’s vision,” Chris Hipkins said.

The Government’s work to put trades and vocational education back on the agenda took another major step forward today with the passing of the Education (Vocational Education and Training Reform) Amendment Bill, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said.

“This is a watershed day for trades and vocational education. These law changes formalize the process of creating a strong, unified, sustainable system to set us up to respond to skills shortages and prepare for the future of work,” Chris Hipkins says.

“With the Government recently announcing a $12 billion infrastructure programme, there has never been a better time to enter trades and vocational training.

“For years New Zealand has faced serious skills shortages across many industries. The construction industry alone needs 80,000 workers in the next five years and the current system is not set up to handle the demand.

“The current system discourages collaboration and pits polytechnics and on-the-job training providers against each other. Learners are often the ones caught in the cross-fire and employers don’t get the skills they need.

“With these changes, we’re bringing together a coherent system of on-the-job apprenticeships and off-the-job training for the first time in 30 years – since apprenticeships were abolished in the 1990s.

“We’re creating a system that is simple to understand and navigate, responsive to the needs of learners and employers, and flexible enough to keep changing and evolving as the world around us changes and evolves.”

The Bill:

gives industry greater leadership across vocational education and training by establishing workforce development councils (WDCs)

establishes the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (NZIST), which will bring together all 16 polytechnics and institutes of technology to provide, arrange and support vocational education and training across the country

introduces a new regulatory framework for vocational education and training

“Amendments following feedback received from the sector during the select committee process and from my colleagues in the House will make the Bill more effective in achieving the Government’s vision,” Chris Hipkins said.

“The Bill ensures academic freedom for staff at the NZIST while allowing the industry to take a leadership role in identifying the skills needed in the workplace through workforce development councils. The Bill will lead to better outcomes for students, industry and the regions, and provides support for staff during the transition to the new system.

“This Bill, along with the work happening outside Parliament to create workforce development councils, centers of vocational excellence, a new vocational education funding system, and to promote vocational education in schools and the community, is a testament to the ability of New Zealanders to work together in pursuit of the common good.

“We will continue to work with industry sectors and training organisations, the institutes of technology and polytechnics that will become part of the NZIST on 1 April, students, unions, whānau, and communities to complete the task of building a better system of vocational education and training,” Chris Hipkins said.

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)