Union welcomes ITPs’ Skills Strategy

Union welcomes ITPs’ Skills Strategy

National Secretary of The Association of Staff in Tertiary Education, Sharn Riggs said today that union members welcomed the initiatives contained in the Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPNZ) strategy paper “Building Skilled Communities” that was released last night. “The paper’s direction is one which the union has been advocating for some time” Ms Riggs said.

“Now is exactly the time for ITPs to be clear about their role in the development and delivery of first class professional and vocational education and research. This paper takes the initiatives contained in The New Zealand Skills Strategy Action Plan and maps out the role of the ITPs in being the first place of choice for education for a future workforce, whether the students are straight out of school or already in paid employment”.

Ms Riggs went on to say that a collective vision for the ITP sector was long overdue and applauded ITPNZ in putting ITPs in the forefront of the tertiary education landscape. “We want ITPs to the first choice when workers look at upskilling and we want ITPs that can really make that distinctive contribution that the Government is looking for. This paper is an excellent first step” she said.

ENDS

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