Relevant Skills In Short Supply

Legislation aimed at improving NZ’s vocational education and training system needs to focus on delivering the right skills needed for business and employment growth, BusinessNZ says.

BusinessNZ says New Zealand’s new vocational education system should not be dominated by polytechnics to the detriment of work-based training and should focus on delivering better-skilled graduates who are more likely to get a job.

BusinessNZ’s submission to the Education & Workforce Select Committee on the Education and Training (Vocational Education and Training System) Amendment Bill says many of the skills that people currently get trained in are not the skills needed by business, and this is holding back graduates from successfully gaining employment - an industry-led, government-enabled vocational system for setting standards is required, to allow for more relevant, up-to-date skills to be taught.

The Bill also allows for a training levy to be imposed on businesses, however BusinessNZ says its members strongly oppose this provision, as they believe the system first requires significant improvement to achieve the business and employment outcomes required from vocational training.

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