Reviewers had doubts regarding Te Pukenga

WELLINGTON: A report shows independent reviewers had serious doubts about the future of the new national polytechnic and workplace training provider Te Pukenga.

The March document said too little had been done to ensure the institute could do its job next year.

The report also exposed longstanding tension between the Tertiary Education Commission and Te Pukenga leaders over what exactly the new institute should be providing from the start of next year, when it takes over responsibility for industry training and polytechnics.

‘‘The programme as currently configured will not meet the minister’s expectations, as we understand them, for January 1, 2023, unless there is a clear intervention of additional resources with an appropriate mandate,’’ the report said.

It warned that polytechnics and institutes of technology, which would become part of Te Pukenga next year, were not well prepared for the transition.

‘‘ITPs [industry training providers] do not fully understand the extent of change required by the reforms and do not seem to receive direction.’’

The report said Te Pukenga had been slow to build its capability in backoffice functions such as IT and finance so it could lead those from January 1.

It warned the institute might not be financially viable and that the reform of vocational education and training might take longer than planned and fail to deliver what was expected.

The document also revealed disagreements between the TEC and Te Pukenga’s leaders.

‘‘Te Pukenga and TEC hold different views of what will be delivered on 1 January 2023 and have done so for some time. This is a significant cause of tension between the two organisations.’’

But the TEC and the institute had since said they had agreed what Te Pukenga would provide.

Te Pukenga chief executive Stephen Town said it had accepted all the review’s recommendations and had already implemented some.

Te Pukenga was on track to deliver what was expected of it by January 1 but it was still working on financially viability, he said.

‘‘Financial viability of Te Pukenga as a network bringing together all ITPs and some TITOs [transition industry training organisations] through Workbased Learning Ltd will not happen overnight,’’ he said.

National Party tertiary education spokeswoman Penny Simmonds, a former Southern Institute of Technology chief executive, said the review confirmed what she had been hearing from within the sector.

‘‘None of the things that should have been done to do a major change management in the vocational sector is there and all we’re hearing now is that everything is going to cost more.’’

Education Minister Chris Hipkins said things had moved on since the report was tabled in early March.

‘‘As with all big programmes there are implementation risks, which we are monitoring very closely. This early report is evidence of that scrutiny,’’ he said.

TEC chief executive Tim Fowler said it and Te Pukenga now agreed on what the institute would provide at the start of next year.

‘‘This includes expectations around the operating model and organisational structure and what will be different for learners, employers, and staff.’’

However, the institute still had work to do to ensure it succeeded financially, he said.

‘‘Te Pukenga is forecasting a significant deficit in 2022 and overall financial performance remains a concern.’’ — RNZ