WelTec welcomes School Plus

Media Release
27 March 2008

Wellington Institute of Technology welcomes School Plus

“Schools Plus is an excellent initiative and one that Wellington Institute of Technology will support wholeheartedly,” says chief executive Dr Linda Sissons.

“The underlying principle, that every young person should be in education, skills or structured learning, relevant to their needs and abilities is one that WelTec totally supports.

“We have had very good success with young people who have come to us previously unsuccessful in the formal learning system,” says Dr Sissons.

“In 2007, 29 percent of our student programme enrolments came to us with no identified secondary qualifications. Of these, 79 percent stayed right to the end of their course and 76 percent passed successfully.”

“These are great young people, and with the right choices and courses available they have a better chance of accessing the full range of opportunities life has to offer.”

Dr Sissons says 70% of WelTec’s students are male and 50 percent is aged 17 to 24. WelTec has put in place a number of strategies to assist students make good learning decisions. These include assisting students develop a Personal Education Plan (PEP) which helps their learning plan and style. “We are also opening in April of this year a Student Hub, which brings together all the resources a student needs to facilitate their learning experience.”

“Our focus is on providing a great learning journey for our students and we are continuing to make changes to enhance their experience and success in learning.

“What pleases me most about Schools Plus is the acknowledgement that there is a role for all institutions – schools, ITPs and other providers –in working together to assist young people meet the 21st century education and training needs.

“Institutes of Technology such as WelTec are a key part of the provision of training for our young people. We provide a whole spectrum of training needs from industry training to that of the “new professionals”. We help ‘staircase’ young people into other tertiary institutions or into our own degree programmes such as those based around the new professionals. We see one of our most important roles is to educate the young people, including the “new professionals” who will lead the transformation of New Zealand’s economy and society in the future.

“WelTec intends to work with government to actively support this initiative and we look forward to working closely with schools in our area to ensure a smooth introduction of any changes that are made to the schooling and learning system.”

ENDS

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