$132.1m investment in tertiary education

Budget 2017 invests $132.1 million of new operating funding to develop the skills and knowledge needed for a stronger and more internationally connected New Zealand economy, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Paul Goldsmith says.

“To help Kiwis succeed we need a world-class tertiary education system that delivers modern skills, rewards research excellence, and helps drive innovation,” Mr Goldsmith says.

The investments funded as part of Budget 2017, over four years, are:

· $52.5 million for the Performance-Based Research Fund to incentivise and reward high-quality research in tertiary education.

· $69.3 million for increased tuition subsidy rates at qualification level three and above, helping providers to deliver skills and knowledge for a stronger economy.

· $6.8 million of funding to support sustainable growth in the international education sector to strengthen the net benefit to New Zealand and its value to our regions.

· $3.5 million of reprioritised funding to meet increased demand for workplace-based literacy and numeracy programmes in 2018.

“The tertiary education system drives innovation through research, knowledge transfer fostering entrepreneurship, and also makes a large contribution to our economy through international education – our fourth largest export industry at $4.28 billion in export earnings in 2016,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“We have seen more than 200,000 jobs created in the past three years, and meeting the skill needs of both companies and learners is essential. The workforce of the future will need to be more flexible and adaptable to the changing world around us, and the Government is up to meeting that challenge.”

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