10. NICKY WAGNER (National) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
What recent announcements has she made regarding trades academies?
Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Education) Link to this
Great news. I am pleased to inform the House that this Government is doubling the number of new trades academies. In this year’s Budget, we promised another five new academies; we are now doubling that to 10. With the current eight and the three that are already scheduled to open next year, this will bring the total number of trades academies in New Zealand to 21. In addition to this, we announced yesterday that we are trebling the number of places at the Canterbury Tertiary College from 148 to 550. This is keeping even more 16 and 17 year-olds engaged in education and practical skills training who would otherwise be at risk of dropping out of the system.
This is quite a long answer. They are spread around the country. The 10 new trades academies that will open during 2012 are based in Nelson-Tasman, west Auckland, Manurewa, Central Otago, and Taumarunui, as well as trades academies led by the Universal College of Learning covering Manawatū, Horowhenua, Wairarapa, and Whanganui, the National Trade Academy in Christchurch, Tāmaki College, Kelston Girls’ College, and the Correspondence School. This is on top of those new trades academies already announced for Hawke’s Bay and the East Coast, Taranaki, and the West Coast. By 2014, 12,500 places will be available—
Hon David ParkerI raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. You have previously ruled in this House that we are not allowed to table press releases. I suggest that the answer is tantamount to reading one out. It is just a listing of each of these—[ Interruption]. It is a serious point of order. Can we get around rulings as to the filing of press releases just by reading them out in answers?
Mr SPEAKERMembers are entitled to ask questions they choose so long as they are in order. The question was in order and it did ask for that information. I would have stopped the Minister had she made any disparaging comments about any other parties at all, but she was actually delivering the information sought by the questioner. I think, though, we did hear probably sufficient in the answer, because it was going on for quite a while.
Carol BeaumontWill increasing the number of young people in trades academies translate into greater numbers of apprenticeships without providing employers with greater financial certainty and confidence to commit to employing an apprentice; if so, how?
The answer to that is yes, and in talking to students and their tutors at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology yesterday, the feedback they are getting from employers is that these students, having come through the trades academies, are much better prepared to go into the workforce, and employers they are working with are coming to the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology in order to get those apprentices first before going out to the broader community.
Brendon BurnsGiven that the House heard again earlier today that 30,000 jobs are needed to rebuild Canterbury, and given that we have 10,000 18 to 24-year-olds alone not in work or training in Canterbury, why are only a few hundred net new skills training places being funded for our region this year?
I would have to check that member’s figures, but what I can say is that this Government is concerned that for too long too many young people have been dropping out of school, and that is why we are delivering on our promises and providing more places. We have announced a considerable package in Christchurch to focus on training young people in those necessary skills—part of that was the announcement yesterday. Labour promised to fix this problem back in 2003—