A taskforce aimed at working towards a positive solution for the community, in the wake of the proposed closure of Tokoroa’s Toi-Ohomai campus, with a shift to alternative delivery modes, will be formed following a meeting of key stakeholders held on Monday, 4 August.

The hui was attended by key partners including MP for Taupō Hon Louise Upston, South Waikato District Mayor Gary Petley, and leadership from Toi-Ohomai, with discussions centered on efforts to ensure South Waikato retains this crucial education provider.

The newly formed taskforce will be incorporated into the existing Project Phoenix group, which was formed by Council in response to large-scale redundancies at the Kinleith Paper Mill earlier this year. MP Louise Upston called on Project Phoenix to investigate education requirements within the District and how local schools are feeding into courses currently offered at the Toi-Ohomai Tokoroa campus.

Mayor Petley said the group will now work with urgency to inform Toi-Ohomai on programmes that will work in the context of the South Waikato, and ensure the District is positioned to meet future local labour needs.

“We are establishing this group to gather and analyse data which will help inform Toi-Ohomai on the programmes that will work in our District, and which we know there is demand for from employers,” Petley said.

“We want to match these programmes to the needs of the employers in our District. There is a big gap there right now."

“The jobs are there, we have companies that want to grow here, and as a Council we are actively pushing to encourage more economic growth in the District, so we need to make sure our people are equipped to service that in the future."

“Having training and qualification opportunities, which match the needs of our economy, is critical."

“Time is of essence here and we understand the need to move swiftly,” Louise Upston said. “There is a $20 million Tertiary Education Commission transition fund available for polytechs. Toi-Ohomai Tokoroa has applied for a portion of that funding, and I will be advocating on its behalf to help it regain independence and financial viability to deliver courses which prepare students for careers in the region.

“Over the next three months the taskforce will research the skills needed for the region’s workforce, and how those can best be provided by local trainers,” she said.

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