• Industry Training Review
• Wairarapa Polytechnic to Merge With UCOL
• Closing the Gaps for All New Zealanders
• Future Work Project to Kick Off Next Year
• Apprenticeship Bill Debated
• Vital, Distinct Role for Polytechs

Industry Training Review

The terms of reference for the comprehensive review of New Zealand's industry training arrangements, to be carried out over the coming year, have been released by Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Steve Maharey.

Speaking at an Employers and Manufacturers Association Northern industry training conference last week, Steve Maharey said that the Government intends amending and strengthening the 1992 Industry Training Act to build on its success and ensure an effective partnership is maintained between government, industry, providers, workers, worker representatives and educators.

Sixty-three thousand workers have undertaken subsidised industry training since the passage of the 1992 Industry Training Act. Particular issues which will examined during the review include uneven training coverage across some industries, the capacity and number of training providers and funding arrangements to support industry training.

Review objectives are to ensure that industry training:

• enables industry across the entire economy to meet the challenges of rising demand for skills and the increasing speed of change in skill needs;
• contributes to higher productivity, improved international competitiveness and higher incomes;
• provides equity of access to industry training; and,
• contributes to closing the education and employment gaps for Mäori and Pacific people.

The review will dovetail with other work already underway including the deliberations of the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission, industry and regional development policies, and the work of the Science and Innovation Advisory Council.

The review will not revisit every element of the Industry Training sector. Stakeholders generally feel that the Industry Training Strategy has worked well but that there are some key obstacles to having a fully effective system of industry training which should be addressed.

The terms of reference for the review have been developed by the Ministry of Education and the Department of Labour in consultation with ITO, employer and employee groups. A discussion document, to be issued in early 2001, will seek the views of the wider industry training sector.

* the terms of reference for the Industry Training Review have been posted on Steve Maharey's website at www.executive.govt.nz/ministers/maharey

The proposed incorporation of Wairarapa Community Polytechnic into UCOL will go ahead from 1 January 2001. Wairarapa Community Polytechnic has been experiencing financial difficulties and was given a Crown loan in March to give it time to determine how it can best secure the future of tertiary provision in the region. Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Steve Maharey said the Government has carefully considered the merger proposal, and the public submissions it attracted, and is convinced that the plan will give tertiary education in Wairarapa a new lease on life.

The educational and strategic benefits of the merger include:

• retaining access to tertiary education opportunities in the Wairarapa region through the use of both distance delivery by technology and a local campus;
• reducing the operational and delivery costs of the institution to a viable level;
• preserving a sense of local iwi and community ownership as well as a Wairarapa identity for the provision of tertiary education through a local Board of Studies and Community Advisory Group;
• providing for the "future orientated" provision of tertiary education in the Wairarapa, by opening the door to a change in the teaching model through the use of current information and communication technologies; and, ensuring that the Wairarapa community would be able to benefit from any potential changes of government policy in the tertiary sector.

Government policies are closing the gaps for all disadvantaged New Zealanders, Social Services and Employment Minister Steve Maharey said last week.

A crusade to close social and economic gaps was promised by Labour leader Helen Clark during last year's election campaign. Mr Maharey said that in Government Labour and the Alliance were actively targeting disadvantage wherever it was apparent. Examples include changes to make tertiary education more affordable, improved access to health care and the reversal of National's cuts to superannuation.

The Government's programme recognises is sensitive to those groups in the population where disadvantage is particularly concentrated - including Mäori and Pacific peoples - and has developed a specific Closing the Gaps strategy to target policies directly at these communities. Those programmes targeted to Mäori are designed to remove the barriers which have seen Mäori and Pacific people more disadvantaged than most.

Future trends in work and their implications for the workplace, the workforce, and employment opportunities are to be examined through a new Workforce 2010 project beginning next year by the Department of Labour's Labour Market Policy Group.

Dramatic change has occurred in the New Zealand labour market over the past twenty years and all predictions point to this accelerating. Issues to be considered include family friendly workplaces; shorter working hours (including four day weeks) and job sharing; expansion of equal employment opportunities throughout the workforce; teleworking; new shift arrangements; week on week off contracts; voluntary shorter working weeks; career breaks/sabbaticals; time banking; and, employee ownership and co-operatives.

The Apprenticeship Training Bill, which implements the Government's Modern Apprenticeships scheme, received the support of all parties in Parliament at its first reading. The bill has been referred to the Education and Science Select Committee who have set a closing date for public submissions of 24 October 2000. Those wanting to participate in Modern Apprenticeships should call 0800 SKILLNZ (754556).

Polytechnics have a vital and distinct role to play in a revitalised tertiary sector, Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Steve Maharey said told delegates attending the Association of Staff in Tertiary Education-Te Hau Takitini o Aotearoa annual conference in Wellington last week.

The challenge for the polytechnic sector within a refocussed cooperative and collaborative tertiary system to define the distinct contribution they can make within a nationwide system. Many excellent examples of cooperative relationships involving polytechnics already exist, including:

• Waikato Polytechnic working with Ruakura and Auckland University to identify a hormone that may be able to increase milk production;
• the creation of Te Tapuae o Rehua by Lincoln University, Christchurch Polytechnic, Christchurch College of Education, the University of Otago and Te Rununga o Ngai Tahu to increase the participation level of Maori students in tertiary education; and,
• Manukau Institute of Technology working with the Otahuhu-based community provider Pacific Island Education Research Centre (PIERC) to create learning pathways.

In addition, polytechnics are to be encouarged to develop a distinct focus for their research based on community and industry needs, vocational learning and the greater use of partnerships. The Tertiary Education Advisory Commission will be giving careful consideration to how the contribution of polytechnic research within the nationwide tertiary system could be maximised over the coming year.

The following principles will underpin the Government's approach to refocussing the polytechnic research effort:

• polytechnics will have a distinct role from universities emphasising diversity, vocational training and promoting community learning;
• polytechnics will continue to be able to offer degrees;
• all degrees will be required to have a research underpinning and this requirement will be enforced;
• research spending throughout the tertiary sector will be focussed strategically aiming to build centres of research excellence; and,
• better use will be made of inter-institutional collaborative projects and information and communications technology (ICT).