12. COLIN KING (National—Kaikoura) Link to this
to the Minister for Tertiary Education
Will the Government meet the target of having 14,000 Modern Apprentices by December 2008; if so, how?
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister for Tertiary Education) Link to this
The answer is yes; we will meet the target of 14,000 Modern Apprentices by December 2008. The answer to the second question of how we will do so is easily—probably about a year ahead of schedule.
Can the Minister confirm that the target of 14,000 Modern Apprentices by December 2008 relates to the number of apprentices in training at that time, and does not count those who have already completed their training; if so, why, in answer to an oral question of 13 November, did he do just that—count both current and completed apprentices towards that target?
When we say 14,000 apprentices, we of course mean those who are in training and those who have completed their training. It would not be a good idea to take apprentices who have completed their training and keep them in training in order to get to 14,000. A good idea would be to get them into the workforce, because the bosses of the land want apprentices as fast as they can get them.
Madam SPEAKERIs a reason that the Minister is now fiddling with the Modern Apprenticeship numbers that, after 6 years of funding totalling over $100 million and years of poor completion rates, he has realised that Labour is on track to another broken promise, to sit alongside the broken promises about 20 free hours’ early childhood education and new entrant ratios?
I can hardly believe my ears. The member of Parliament who asked this question seems to want this Government to keep people in apprenticeships so that we can get to 14,000 in training. That is not the name of the game. The name of the game is to get them through apprenticeships as fast as we can, because there is a significant skills shortage in this country. I urge the member to strongly support the Modern Apprenticeship programme, because 15 years ago his predecessors took an axe to apprenticeships altogether—one of the most stupid decisions ever taken in this country.
I did not hear either the question or the answer on that, so if this level of barracking continues, members will be asked to leave the Chamber.
Why is it that, after 6 years and over $100 million in funding, the Minister still cannot calculate a completion rate for the scheme; or is it more a case that he would prefer not to know, given recent examples such as trainers receiving up to $165,000 for only one completion, and another trainer receiving $1.2 million for only 22 completions?
Who knows what the last part of that question was about. Let me tell members how we count Modern Apprenticeships in this land. We start there and go one, two, three. We do it like that, and we will get up to 14,000 well ahead of December 2008. This is a promise that has been over-delivered on.