Reform of vocational training needs rethink

rapidly evolving, modern economy.

Most notably, the changes do not seem to address the deeper issues of the sector-wide emphasis on volume-based enrolment and the promotion of courses based on profitability, rather than learner ambition or industry needs.

These contribute to a tendency among ITPs to try to attract students to existing courses at the cost of lack of responsiveness in other areas.

Here in Southland, the Southern Institute of Technology has proven its ability to listen to and work with industry sectors such as agriculture, hospitality and engineering to deliver skills-based programmes that meet our region’s needs.

SIT also led the country with the introduction of its innovative Zero Fees initiative.

It is hard to see how a centralised, single entity will be better placed to respond to regional demands or the unique environment they operate in than regionallybased providers.

SIT and many Southland businesses are rightly dismayed that the relationships and courses they have worked hard to develop will be placed in the hands of a national organisation.

Meanwhile the whole community should be very concerned that the investment it has made in SIT and the assets the institution has developed over the past two decades must not be centralised.

Further, the delivery of all vocational training by one centralised institution will remove choice for both industry and students.

It will jeopardise the business-focused programmes already being delivered by both ITOs and ITPs that are successful and make it harder for new courses to be developed to meet emerging needs.

It is of course possible to have the best of a centralised and a devolved world, for example by centralising some functions to create efficiency and minimise duplication, while preserving a high degree of autonomy for the individual institutions that will enable them to be responsive to and innovative for their regions.

This would do more than the current proposal to foster what New Zealand and New Zealanders really need: better funded, better administered, higher quality vocational courses delivered by a range of both ITP and industry-based providers.

The Minister should consider changes to his current proposal if he is serious about making this happen.