Trades training $230m budget boost

The Government’s Budget 2022 announcement to put an extra $230 million into trades training has been given the thumbs up by education providers.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni made the pre-budget announcement last week, extending the Apprenticeship Boost, Mana in Mahi and Māori Trades and Training Fund.

Te Pūkenga Chair Murray Strong says the investment in work-based learning options would support the development of desperately needed tradespeople who can deliver the infrastructure needed to grow the economy.

“We need a highly skilled workforce to continue growing a productive economy that supports Kiwis to thrive. Te Pūkenga, through it’s subsidiary organisation Work Based Learning, is ready to contribute to accelerating our economic development,” says Strong.

Te Pūkenga Chief Executive Work-Based Learning Limited, Toby Beaglehole, says employers and work-based learners play a significant role in every part of our lives – through building homes and workplaces to maintaining the electricity grid and keeping us connected to the world.

“Almost 60 percent of vocational learning takes place in workplaces across the country – which means employers play a really critical role in our nation’s skills development. Recognising the effort and investment of employers is a key step in supporting a highly skilled, thriving workforce,” Beaglehole says.

“As a country, we need to maintain a pipeline of talented, engaged learners who are supported – by the system and by their employer – through nationally recognised qualifications that value their skills and experience.

“Equipping the next generation with the expertise to thrive, and supporting employers to pass on their experience can only be good for all of us,” he says.