22 November 2007

More Kiwis gain tertiary qualifications

New Zealanders are more skilled and obtaining higher qualifications under a Labour-led government, Tertiary Education Minister Pete Hodgson said today.

Pete Hodgson was commenting on the key findings of the Ministry of Education’s annual report on the tertiary education sector released today.

“Almost forty per cent of New Zealanders now hold a tertiary qualification, compared with 25 per cent a decade ago, and 14 per cent have a bachelors or higher qualification, compared with 8 per cent in 1996.

“As Economic Development, Research, Science and Technology, and Tertiary Education Minister I am absolutely delighted by these numbers – the more New Zealanders achieving higher qualifications the better for our economy and the country’s productivity,” Pete Hodgson said.

Profile and Trends is an annual survey of the performance of the tertiary sector and has been published since 1998.

“The government spent $3.3 billion on tertiary education in 2006 and this investment is vital to our sustained economic and social development.

“We know that those with tertiary qualifications have higher earnings than others, have a lower risk of unemployment and more employment opportunities.

“In recent years we have seen educational achievement increase across the board, with more than a third of our working age population holding a tertiary qualification.

“Having a more highly qualified population means higher wages for New Zealanders and a better economy, allowing New Zealand to compete on the global stage.”

Since 2000 workplace learning has more than doubled, from 81,000 trainees to more than 176,000 in 2006, including 9,470 modern apprentices. In 2006 there were 491,000 tertiary students, and 43,000 of these were international students.

Find the full report, Profile and Trends 2006: New Zealand’s Tertiary Education Sector at: www.educationcounts.edcentre.govt.nz/publications/tertiary/p&t-2006

ENDS

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