10. DARREN HUGHES (Labour—Otaki) Link to this
to the Minister for Tertiary Education
What reports has he received on the success of the Modern Apprenticeships scheme?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister for Tertiary Education) Link to this
Last week I had the pleasure of personally congratulating Mr Phillip Newport, the 3,000th Modern Apprentice to complete training under this scheme. The 3,000 Modern Apprentices who have now completed their training prove that the Labour-led Government’s revitalisation of trades training is continuing to bear fruit.
Can the Minister tell the House how many Modern Apprentices are currently in training and contributing to the New Zealand economy?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Link to this
The latest statistics show that at 31 December 2006 there were 9,466 Modern Apprentices in training—up 13 percent from December 2005. Total industry training numbers increased 5 percent over the same period to just under 124,000. This is in marked contrast to the destruction of apprenticeship in the 1990s, which was particularly marked by the repeal of the Apprenticeship Act by the Rt Hon Bill Birch.