The Vocational Education and Training (VET) system is critically important for the future pipeline of skills within New Zealand. Employers engage with the VET system in many ways such as employing and supporting apprentices, upskilling their current staff, and expecting the qualifications new staff hold to reflect the capabilities and skillsets needed by their industry.
Under the previous government, the various Institutes of Technology and Polytechnic (ITP’s) and Industry Training Organisations (ITO’s) were merged to create Te Pūkenga as well as creating Workforce Development Councils and Regional Skills Leadership Groups to offer Industry and Regional lenses for skills needs.
This was intended to create efficiencies nationwide and promote closer industry input into standard setting and qualification development. The new government does not feel that the previous reform achieved this and has committed to disestablishing Te Pūkenga and restoring regional decision making and delivery in the ITP network. They are wanting to achieve better financial viability of the sector, regional/local responsiveness and stronger connection to industry.
Consultation:
This complex process is starting with an initial consultation, which closes on the 12th of September.
We will be making a submission, and encourage our members to make their own submissions, or to give feedback on their experiences to inform our submission.
The consultation is broken down into three proposals:
- Proposal 1: Creating an Institute of Technology and Polytechnic (ITP) network that provides access in all regions, through a combination of stand-alone ITP’s and a federated model for those who aren’t financially viable alone.
- Proposal 2: Two options for standards-setting and industry training.
- Option A: Industry Training Boards (ITB’s) responsible for industry standard setting and arranging training (similar to the old ITO model).
- Option B: a small amount of Industry Groups doing standard setting but not arranging of training. Industry training delivery would be distributed across more providers including ITP’s PTE’s and Wānanga.
- Proposal 3: Changes to funding arrangements.
This consultation is important as it will have impacts on our workforce pipeline into the future.
Proposal 1:
The Government proposes to:
- Re-establish independent regional ITP’s that can show a route to financial sustainability.
- Where other polytechnics are not financially viable, or need more academic support, they would come under a federation of smaller polytechnics, anchored on the Open Polytechnic.
- Maintain provision that is critical to regional communities, employers and economies.
- The training and apprenticeship programmes currently run by Te Pūkenga’s Work-based Learning (WBL) division would continue, just not delivered by Te Pūkenga.
Proposal 2:
Option A: Industry Training Boards (ITB’s)
- Up to 8 Industry training boards who do standard setting and arranging training.
- Would look after work-based programmes currently sitting in Te Pūkenga’s WBL division.
- Compared to previous ITO’s, the government is interested in whether ITB’s should have the same monopoly on arranging training?
- Also compared to ITO’s, the expectations around standards setting and monitoring would be strengthened and directly funded.
Option B: Industry Groups
- Replace Workforce Development Councils (WDCs) with a small amount of Industry Groups doing standard setting, qualification development and workforce forecasting, with other players responsible for management of apprentices/trainees, pastoral care, arranging & delivering training and assessments
- Industry groups would have a narrower remit than WDC’s
- They would compete with ITPs, PTEs, and Wānanga to arrange industry training.
- This model allows any provider to offer industry training programmes.
- It would require strong and independent industry standard setters.
Proposal 3:
- Changes to funding arrangements to increase funding for provider-based vocational education.
- This is achieved by reducing funding rates for work-based delivery.
Questions for feedback
The consultation document has a range of questions and prompters as well as a survey you can do instead of writing a full submission.
If you would prefer to just give us feedback to inform our submission, some questions you could consider are:
- How did you interact with parts of the system pre: Te Pūkenga?
- How do you interact with parts of the system now?
- What worked/didn’t work in either model?
- What outcomes matter most to you as an employer with this reform?
- Are there other ideas/models/factors that government need to consider while reforming the vocational education sector?
Contact:
Joanna Hall, Senior Policy Advisor, EMA – Joanna.hall@ema.co.nz
Useful links
Main Ministry of Education page – here you will find the submission template, and email address, as well as the survey: 2024 Vocational education and training reforms – Education in New Zealand
Other docs
May 2024 Consultation Report released under OIA
Muka Tangata Submission
Waihanga Ara Rau VET Redesign Consultation Information
Toi Mai Industry Webinar
Toi Mai Letter to Stakeholders
BCITO Explainer Document
Image/graphics credit: Ministry of Education