Hon Paul Goldsmith
Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment
Hon Louise Upston
Associate Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment

20 June 2017

More investment in apprentices

The Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Paul Goldsmith and the Associate Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Louise Upston today announced a further increase in funding over the next four years to support work-based training.

“With the real need for more skilled workers, approximately 38,000 through to 2020, I am pleased to announce a further $7 million investment in apprentices and industry training over the next four years,” says Mr Goldsmith.

“The Government is willing to put the resources in, but we also need the support of parents, teachers, careers advisors, and businesses if we are to get more young Kiwis into the trades.”

Mr Goldsmith says the Government is responding to the increase in demand for skills as employment opportunities increase, particularly in key sectors like construction.

“Industry trainees and apprenticeships are in high demand and supporting work-based training is a priority for this government. We are directly supporting employers to invest in recruiting and up-skilling their employees to meet the future demands of their business.”

The extra funding is in addition to the new funding for industry training of $14.4m over four years in Budget 2016 and will support over 2,000 apprenticeships over the next four years.

Associate Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Louise Upston says it is vital that industry training becomes an attractive option for more young New Zealanders.

“The numbers of learners enrolled in industry training is getting close to the numbers enrolled in universities and qualification completion rates are higher than they have ever been. With over 43,000 learners already in apprenticeships and apprentice-like training in 2016, we are on our way to achieving our target of 50,000 apprentices by 2020.

“Our continued investment in work-based training ensures New Zealanders have the skills they need to be successful at work, and New Zealand businesses have the skilled employees they need to grow,” Ms Upston says.

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