• Constant Improvement Promise Kept
• Horowhenua 'One More Worker' Scheme Relaunched
• Gateway Programme Pilots
• Getting Active In Communities
• Kiwi Kids Need Good Role Models
• Beneficiary Advocates and Government Meet

Constant Improvement Promise Kept

The Government is keeping its promise to deliver a tertiary education agenda of constant improvement, Steve Maharey told the New Zealand University Student's Association conference at the weekend.

Mr Maharey became the first education minister to address an NZUSA conference in seven years. Giant steps are being taken by the new Government to make quality tertiary education more affordable, he said.

New Zealand's tertiary system is on the verge of fees freeze in 2001, with every public institution agreeing to freeze their fees and compulsory charges next year. Fees have risen 180% on average over the last decade, from a standard fee of $1,250 in 1990, to an average of over $3,500 this year.

An additional $664 million is being invested in tertiary education over the next four years. The Government is now moving to address quality issues and to provide strategic leadership for the future development of the tertiary sector.

The relationship between the national student organisations and the Government is an important one. Mr Maharey thanked NZUSA and the Aotearoa Tertiary Students' Association for the work they have done with the new Government since it came to office including refining student summer work proposals, advice on the establishment and work of the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission, student loans processing problems and long-term loans policy.

Where the additional $664m being invested in tertiary education is going (Totals over four years, 2001/01 to 03/04)

• fees stabilisation ($109M)
• halving dental fees ($11M)
• Student Job Search ($3M)
• Closing the gaps & other equity initiatives ($4)
• export education strategy ($0.3M - also an additional $3.8m new funding from TradeNZ)
• wiping student loan interest ($420M)
• Modern Apprenticeships ($42M)
• increased industry training ($23M)
• TEAC ($3M)
• other initiatives ($48.7M)

Steve Maharey relaunched Horowhenua's successful One More Worker scheme last week. The One More Worker programme, which is operated by Enterprise Horowhenua in partnership with the Department of Work and Income (DWI) during 1999, challenged employers in the Kapiti and Horowhenua districts to take on an additional employee. An evaluation of the scheme, just completed by DWI, shows that the scheme has created 126 new positions over its nine-month life and is now being replicated in other towns and cities across New Zealand.

Growing the number of jobs in local communities is a central plank of the Government's strategy to revitalise regional economies.

On the strength of the results achieved the Horowhenua Local Employment Co-ordination Group and DWI have decided to continue One More Worker into this financial year and the programme is now spreading to other regions as well. Programmes will open in Taranaki and Wellington this year and Waitakere, Pukekohe and the Bay of Plenty regions are considering its potential in their communities.

* For further information about the One More Worker programme contact Brenton Tukapua, DWI Levin Work Broker, (029) 573 253 or Jenny McDonald, DWI Centre for Operational Research and Evaluation, (04) 916 3586.

Details of the Government's new Gateway programme, which will offer secondary students additional structured work-based learning opportunities that better prepare them for the world of work, were announced recently by Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Steve Maharey.

Speaking at the Real Life Learning New Plymouth Mayor's Education Forum, organised by the Taranaki Vocational Education Trust, Mr Maharey said that Gateway is designed to build pathways from school to work, and to further education and training. Pilot programmes will run in deciles 1 to 5 schools next year The Government provided $4 million in the Budget to fund pilot programmes in 2001 and 2002.

Two models will be tested in the pilots. One will involve Skill New Zealand working directly with schools and assisting schools to find on-job placements for students and develop employer networks to support vocational education and training. The other model will involve contracts with a third party, such as a Polytechnic or an Industry Training Organisation, to work with schools to arrange for the delivery of work-based learning opportunities for students.

Schools are being contacted currently and invited to register expressions of interest in running pilot Gateway programmes. Skill New Zealand and the Ministry of Education will be working jointly on the implementation of the programme.

* for further information about Gateway please contact Frances Kelly, Ministry of Education, (04) 471 6052 or Annelies ter Brake, Skill New Zealand, (04) 801 5588.

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Steve Maharey discussed the importance of volunteering during a recent meeting with Dunedin community groups. While the role of voluntary agencies often went unrecognised, strong local organisations are essential to build strong communities. The Government wants to encourage local people and businesses to give of their time and energy within their communities and is working to actively support the community and voluntary sector.

Next year is the United Nations International Year of the Volunteer, providing an opportunity to recognise the voluntary work many people already do and to encourage greater civic service.

Good role models are essential for every child to grow successfully into adulthood, Steve Maharey told the inaugural conference into youth mentoring in NZ in Dunedin last week. Changes in family structure, including the loss of regular contact with members of the extended whanau/family, has seen many children lose the traditional support and guidance provided by aunts, uncles and grandparents. It is important that all children continued to receive effective mentoring.

If New Zealand is to build a strong and healthy society it is important that children and young people are raised to see the intrinsic value in education and be encouraged to become caring members of their community. Youth mentoring appears to offer one way of strengthening both these factors.

A number of organisations offer professional mentoring services in New Zealand. The conference provided an opportunity to hear of international best practice and to identify successful local mentoring examples. The development of professional standards amongst New Zealand practitioners was also discussed.

Mr Maharey said the Government will continue to support these services because it wants every child to achieve their full potential in adulthood.

Representatives of around 40 beneficiary advocacy groups from across New Zealand met welfare officials and Cabinet Ministers in Otaki last week. The three-day conference was a joint venture between the advocates, the Ministry of Social Policy and the Department of Work and Income.

Building on the constructive discussions Ministers and officials have established with the Beneficiary Advocates Reference Group since January 2000, the conference discussed income-related rents, changes to the Department of Work and Income, the department's relationship with advocates at a regional level, the interface between welfare and work and future mechanisms for consultation between the groups and government.

Associate Social Services Minister Ruth Dyson (standing in for Steve Maharey) and Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia said the Government valued its on-going relationship with the advocates.