Skills Organisation welcomes increase in Training

The Skills Organisation welcomes increase in Maori and Pasifika training

A government boost for Maori and Pasifika Trades Training is incredibly positive for New Zealand, The Skills Organisation chief executive Garry Fissenden says.

As part of Budget 2013, the government will announce an extension of Maori and Pasifika Trades Training from 600 to 3000 places.

$43 million will be spent on the initiative during the next four years - much of it reallocated from the Industry Training Fund.

“This is an extremely welcome move, one that will undoubtedly improve the lives of Maori and Pasifika communities around the country” Fissenden said.

“We and other ITOs are already working incredibly hard in this space and The Skills Organisation will continue to deliver outcomes that are relevant for both employees and employers.”

Recent Tertiary Education Commission figures show significant improvement in the performance of Maori learners in industry training between 2010 and 2011.

Credit achievements rose from 55 per cent to 62 per cent and programme completions up from 46 per cent to 56 per cent.

The announcement comes weeks after the release of the “Maori Learners In Workplace Settings “ report, which The Skills Organisation worked alongside the Industry Training Federation, AKO Aotearoa and two other ITOs to produce.

Fissenden said The Skills Organisation already had many of the report’s recommendations in place.

The ITO, which was collaborating with a wide range of training providers, was well placed to ensure success for its new and existing Maori and Pasifika trainees, he said.

ENDS

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