• CYF Social Workers Get Pay And Professional Support Boost
• Tertiary Governance Strengthened
• Supporting Special Parents
• Tertiary Change Fund Criteria
• Tertiary Education In Wanganui
• $1b Export Education Tip
• Bills Get Their First Reading
• Export Ourselves: The New Economy And Export Education

CYF SOCIAL WORKERS GET PAY AND PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT BOOST
Increased pay rates and better professional support to assist Child, Youth and Family to recruit and retain the best social workers were announced last week.

Social Services and Employment Minister Steve Maharey said new employment agreements, covering approximately 1,700 staff, have now been negotiated with the PSA and have been overwhelmingly ratified by staff. In addition, new professional supervisory staff have been appointed and additional training has been introduced for new staff. The $29 million professionalisation package was provided in the Budget as a key response to Mick Brown's review of the Department which identified severe staff recruitment and retention problems.

Under the new pay scales the minimum salary for an unqualified social worker goes from $26,000 to $30,000 a year, while the minimum for a qualified social worker rises from $30,000 to $35,000. The top social work pay rate moves to $50,000 an increase of 16 percent.

Foundations for the new pay rates and employment contracts were laid during a collaborative remuneration project carried out by CYF and the PSA. The final remuneration result is the result of four months work between the department, unions and staff. Other measures taken to recruit and hold on to staff include:

• the appointment of 38 new Practice Managers to promote and manage social work practice within Child Youth and Family;
• the appointment of a further 75 Senior Practitioners (bringing the national total to 90) to provide on-the-job guidance and practice support and mentoring for Social Workers; and,
• a six week training programme for newly recruited social work staff, to teach them the basics of statutory social work.

TERTIARY GOVERNANCE STRENGTHENED
Important new measures strengthening the effective governance of tertiary education institutions were agreed in Parliament last week during the committee stages of the renamed Education Standards Bill (previously called the Education Amendment (No. 2) Bill).

The legislation Bill allows for a staged method of intervention by the Government to help at-risk public tertiary institutions. A final stage allows for the appointment of a commissioner to replace the institution's council. This power has caused a degree of controversy. After listening to submitters and to concerns raised by the Greens, the Government has made several changes to the Bill, including tightening the definition of serious risk necessary to trigger the appointment of a commissioner and providing for a review of the new powers after five years. The bill is now waiting on Parliament's order for its final reading.

Discussions are also continuing on new accountability arrangements that could be introduced with the new tertiary funding framework in 2003 and which might supersede the provisions of the Bill at that time.

SUPPORTING SPECIAL PARENTS
Social Services and Employment Minister Steve Maharey spoke last week to the national conference of Parent to Parent, a support and information network for parents of children with special needs. Formed in New Zealand in 1983, the group has built up a support network that is now nationwide. Support is provided voluntarily by Trained Support Parents who have a child with the same or similar needs. Families are able to access written information relating to their childs condition, and emotional support through talking with a trained volunteer Support Parent who knows and understands from personal experience what it is like to parent a child with special needs.

* visit Parent to Parent on-line at www.parent2parent.org.nz

TERTIARY CHANGE FUND CRITERIA
Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Steve Maharey last week wrote to tertiary institutions inviting applications for a share of the Government's new one-off $35m Tertiary Education Strategic Fund and detailing the criteria that will be used to assess them. He said the Fund gives public tertiary institutions the ability to make changes which respond to the Tertiary Education Strategy coming into place next year.

A new tertiary education funding and regulatory environment is being introduced in 2003 to reshape New Zealand's tertiary education system. A Tertiary Education Strategy will be in place from next year and will place new demands on tertiary education providers.

In order to receive funding, institutions will be required to demonstrate how the changes they want to make enable them to:

• contribute to New Zealand's social, environmental and economic development;
• respond to the challenges of a new strategically-focused tertiary education sector; and,
• build on their current position.

Applications will also need to describe achievable and measurable success criteria and be supported by a clear business plan.

Total funding worth 34.7m (comprising $18.1m in operating expenditure and $16.6m for capital expenditure) will be divided proportionally amongst successful applicants on the basis of their student roll.

TERTIARY EDUCATION IN WANGANUI
Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Steve Maharey said he was pleased with the number of submissions received on the future of Wanganui Regional Community Polytechnic during the consultation period. An initial count shows over 900 have been individually received, although as many were sent to several locations it has not yet been possible to eliminate duplicate submissions from this total. The majority were form submissions. An analysis of the submissions is now being prepared and will be an important factor in the final decision expected by the end of October.

The current polytechnic is effectively in receivership and cannot continue to accumulate massive financial losses year after year. At the start of September the Government called for public consultation on a viable option to deliver tertiary education in Wanganui. The option proposed was a partnership with UCOL, with the Wanganui community's on-going involvement to be protected through the development of a Community Charter, the establishment of a Wanganui Advisory Committee, Wanganui representation on UCOL's Council and legal instruments to protect Wanganui community interests.

Steve Maharey said in coming to a final decision he would want to be assured that the range and depth of tertiary education currently available in Wanganui is protected.

* regular updates on the partnership proposal are being posted to the TAMU section of the Ministry of Education website at www.minedu.govt.nz

$1b EXPORT EDUCATION TIP
New Zealand's burgeoning export education industry is tipped to contribute $1b to our GDP by 2003, says Steve Maharey in the second of his Third Way columns which accompanies this issue of Maharey Notes.

BILLS GET THEIR FIRST READING
Parliament gave the Commissioner for Children Bill and the Social Workers Registration Bill their first readings last week. The Social Workers Registration Bill provides a framework for the registration of social workers and puts in place a number of measures to protect New Zealanders from poor social work practice. The Commissioner for Children Bill strengthens the ability of the Commissioner to protect the rights, welfare and interests of children. Both bills were referred to the Social Services Select Committee who have yet to call for public submissions.

EXPORT OURSELVES: THE NEW ECONOMY AND EXPORT EDUCATION
by Steve Maharey
the Third Way, first published in the National Business Review, 12 October 2001

Education is central to the new economy. Export education, which includes both students studying in New Zealand and the delivery of services overseas, is one of the new industries that will shape our economic future.

How important is it? In 2000 export education contributed $700 million to GDP. It is projected to reach $1 billion by 2003. With proper management export education could become one of our most important export earners.

To ensure this potential is reached, the Labour/Alliance Government is investing in the development of an export education strategy through the Ministry of Education, TradeNZ and Education New Zealand.

Ministers have been including export education in their overseas programmes. As Associate Minister of Education (Tertiary Education) I recently visited our biggest market, the People's Republic of China, to take stock of developments and look to the future.

After four days of discussions with students, educational agents, government officials, institutions and academics I came to some firm conclusions.

Get set for major growth. Asia contributes the bulk of students studying in New Zealand (around 32,000 in 2000), with China providing a substantial and growing proportion of this. However, with 2400 Chinese students applying for visas every month their numbers are bound to grow.

The development of the Chinese market has happened in a short space of time. Three years ago few students came to New Zealand. Now the growth seems unlimited.

The secret of our success includes the following elements. New Zealand is seen as a safe, stable country. Educational agents based in China, who recruit students, are doing a good job. Visas are processed swiftly and allow a wide range of students to find a place with a public or private provider. The institutions and providers are delivering (mostly) a quality education and good pastoral care.

However, if our current success rests on the above factors, the future will demand a "maturing" of our strategy. Growth has come so quickly that the number of students is not the issue. Advertising is almost redundant as word of mouth is bringing in new enrolments. It is time to be thinking about what we, and the Chinese, want to achieve from our shared interest in education.

We need to be looking at the role export education should play in our education system. New Zealanders are aiming to build a knowledge nation based on high quality education and research. Our export education strategy needs to be consistent with this overall aim. Which means focusing less on volume and more on being a top quality destination for learners.

It would be useful if we moved away from individual providers and institutions seeking Chinese students to a New Zealand Inc. approach. Our aim should be to ensure each student is and given the best education. Providers and institutions should work together to create a learning career for each student within New Zealand. They can start with English language then move to vocational and academic training.

Monitoring the progress of students who return to China to see if their education suited them and their employers is also important. This kind of monitoring will be appreciated and ensure we are providing what is needed.

We also need to be clear that the relationship is not all one-way traffic. The Chinese are keen to see New Zealand students and staff in their country. They want other nationalities to know about their country and it is clear we have a lot to gain by making sure this happens.

We should also be thinking about how we can take our educational programmes and services to China. Some examples are already in place. The Colleges of Education currently have staff in China. Unitec has launched a programme where students begin their education in Beijing and finish it in Auckland. The Auckland University of Technology is running courses for middle level government officials on the implications of China joining the World Trade Organisation.

These initiatives are only the beginning. For example, there are around 10 million Chinese teachers looking for English language skills and upgrading of their knowledge in specific subjects! The school curriculum is being overhauled in many subject areas. There is a pressing need for skills development. Specialist services like those offered through the New Zealand Qualifications Authority could make a big impact.

Best progress will be made if a long-term view is adopted. The Chinese see education as something which is sacred and do not want to be treated as a source of profit. They want the emphasis placed on quality and relationship building.

It is easy to understand why quality is so strongly emphasized when China's one-child policy is taken into account. Chinese parents and grandparents look on their only child as a "Little Emperor". The aspirations of the entire family rest on the child's shoulders and only the best will do.

Which is why we need to be very careful about our image in China. Stories such as those in the New Zealand media about the treatment of Asian students have the ability to shut down the market overnight. Such stories are reproduced in the Chinese media and are taken seriously by parents who are very protective of their children.

Our new economy depends on the development of knowledge industries. Export education is an outstanding example of what can be done. The lessons learnt in China apply not only there but also throughout the industry. The watchword must be quality.