Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics
Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics play a key role in ensuring that labour market
needs are met at a regional and national level. They represent a significant public
investment in developing a skilled and innovative workforce.
In the recent past not enough attention has been paid to supporting the development of
trade and skill training. An emphasis on degree qualifications and attending university
diminished an interest in trade training undermining our ability to grow the economy. We
need to actively encourage young New Zealanders into trades training, and support others to
re-train.
Labour will provide an additional 5,000 fees-free training places over 3 years for 16
and 17 year olds at risk of disengaging from education. These will include 1,000 that
have a Māori mentoring element and 1,000 with a Pasifika mentoring element.
Labour will ensure that there is a network of regional institutions dedicated to meeting
the labour market and skill needs of our regions. In some cases this may require
additional support to enable institutions to operate where there are not the student
numbers to support them.
ITPs need to work closely with the businesses and organisations in their regions to identify
and meet needs. They need to work closely with industry training organisations to ensure
that training is provided in a relevant and quality manner.
Through ITPs we need to ensure that we are developing a workforce with high quality skills.
This will require individual ITPs to develop areas where they have speciality and can attract
high quality staff and support from industry.
Labour will improve the way that ITPs and ITOs work together including through joint
curriculum development, clearer qualifications and more flexible learning pathways.
Labour will support ITPs to develop specialist capability in key skill need areas where
they can play a national leadership role.
ITPs also have a key role in supporting the transition of young people from the compulsory
sector. This will require them to demonstrate flexibility through working with secondary
schools and establishing programmes and means of delivery that cater to a range of
students.
Labour will support the development by ITPs, in collaboration with others, of flexible
models of training including trades academies and tertiary high schools.
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