17 March 2004

Industry Training Good for Workers,
Good for the Economy

The number of working people taking part in industry training means that economic growth through improving skill is well on the way to becoming a reality, Council of Trade Unions secretary Carol Beaumont said today.

The Government has announced that the number of workers participating in industry training jumped by nearly 20,000 last year to a record high of nearly 127,000 – an increase of 19 per cent.

The figures show an even distribution of training throughout the country.

“While one might expect a lower pick-up of formal training in rural areas, there is no indication of this,” Carol Beaumont said. “You don't have to leave town to develop a career. Industry training is accessible education for all working people.”

However, unions were concerned that there was only a slight increase in the proportion of women in industry training, she said.

Just one-quarter of trainees were women, and the proportion of Maori and Pacific women in training was even lower.

“The figures reflect the low number of women in the trades, and the low number of employers in female-intensive service industries who are involved in training programmes,” Carol Beaumont said.

“The CTU will continue to push for fair access to training opportunities for women through avenues such as the Skill New Zealand campaign.

“We will continue to play a major role in supporting industry training and will work with business and the Government to increase the number of trainees and employers involved,” she said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions

Te Kauae Kaimahi

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi brings together over 350,000 New Zealand union members in 40 affiliated unions. We are the united voice for working people and their families in New Zealand.

CONTACT NEW ZEALAND COUNCIL OF TRADE UNIONS

• Website - union.org.nz/
• Phone - +64 4 385 1334
• YouTube
• Physical Address - Level 7, West Block, Education House, 178 Willis St, Wellington.

• Media Contact - huiaw@nzctu.org.nz
• Facebook
• Twitter - @FairnessNZ
• Postal Address - PO Box 6645, Marion Square, Wellington 6141.

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>