Training boss fires fees ‘warning shot’

The Government has been warned that the cutoff in its education feesfree policy will deter students from doing industry training courses.

Under the fees-free policy, students who have already earned more than 60 credits from industry training courses are not eligible to receive free industry training.

If those credits were earned at school, the student is exempt from the cutoff. The same details apply for university education fees.

Industry Training Federation (ITF) chief executive Josh Williams said he had fired a ‘‘warning shot’’ to the Government over the ‘‘restrictive’’ 60-credit detail.

‘‘The prior attainment rule is a bit too restrictive. People might choose not to go into an industry training programme to protect their entitlement,’’ he said.

‘‘We are worried about people that will not sign up to industry training if it means they cannot get free university.’’

Some training providers had already experienced a drop in apprenticeship sign-ups in this

"If 'first year free' just sends people to study, that is a real shame because we have a worker shortage."

Josh Williams

Industry Training Federation

typically busy time of year, he said. He was worried that was a consequence of the policy and if so it could worsen next year, he said.

Some students were holding off signing up to programmes because they were waiting until after January 1 when it would be free, he said.

Industry training providers were worried the fees-free policy could sway more school leavers to attend university, rather than do an apprenticeship and earn while they learn, Williams said.

‘‘The last thing we need is to disincentivise. If ‘first year free’ just sends people to study, that is a real shame because we have a worker shortage,’’ he said.

‘‘It is apprentices that will build these houses and upgrade infrastructure.’’

One-third of new trainees in 2016 had completed university degrees, Williams said.

By the time most apprentices arrived to undergo industry training, they would have already used their fees-free entitlement, he said.

That could lead students to refuse to complete an apprenticeship or any industry training before attending university, he said.

Williams wanted a fees entitlement for first-year apprentices, regardless of whether or not they had already been to university.

‘‘We would like to see something for our first-year students.’’

He said he had discussed his concerns with Education Minister Chris Hipkins.

‘‘In the end, they [the Government] talked about this being an interim solution for 2018.’’

Williams commended the Government for introducing the policy regardless of details he wanted scrapped or introduced.

‘‘The entitlements for work-based learning are pretty good. We take our hats off to the Government.’’