Upheaval and uncertainty in industry training shake-up

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MITO is among 11 industry training organisations (ITOs) facing a possible shake-up or even disestablishment under wide-reaching changes to work skills training proposed by education minister Chris Hipkins.

Radical reforms are suggested, including the proposal to transfer responsibility for industry training and apprenticeships under the direction of single polytechnic entity the “NZ Institute of Skills and Technology”.This would bring all 16 polytechnics across New Zealand under one umbrella.

March 27 was initially signalled as the deadline for submissions – a further week of consultation was granted following the Christchurch massacre.

But MITO chief executive Janet Lane maintains that the seven-week consultation period is insufficient to allow for meaningful engagement on such a substantial proposal considering that there had been no previous indication of the enormity of these changes.

“We were blindsided with the announcement.

Furthermore, with no indication of costs and efficiencies to be gained, it is impossible to meaningfully assess the merits of the proposal,” she says.

“Guaranteed, this will cause huge uncertainty and massive upheaval to a system that has been operating successfully for over 25 years.”

Lane says that sorting out the polytechnic system is critical.

The government invested $100 million in four polytechnics which were financially at risk last year, with more in financial jeopardy.

“By all means get the polytechnic situation sorted, but not at the expense of industry training organisations,” she says.

“Simply transferring 145,000 learners to a national institution is not the answer.”

Lane says MITO has demonstrated that it’s successfully meeting the needs of industry.

She says annual customer surveys show 96% of employers are satisfied overall with MITO and 94% of employers rate MITO’s training programmes very highly.

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) also gives MITO the thumbs up.

“We have a proven track record,” Lane says.

“Our success stories are our learners’ success stories.”

She says MITO provides coaching, mentoring, record keeping, goal setting and ensures learners can meet their targets and are followed up in every step of their journey.

MITO qualifications group manager Michael Alsford adds that the organisation has just launched the New Zealand Certificate in Electric Vehicle Automotive Engineering (Level 5) for qualified and experienced automotive technicians to ensure the industry are upskilled to safely inspect, service and repair EVs.

The certificate, now open for enrolments, takes 11 months to complete and covers eight unit standards, comprising e-learning and practical workshops.

“With the support of our industry reference group, and funding provided by the Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund, we were able to expedite the development of this new qualification in record time,” Alsford says.

“This is an example of how nimble MITO can be to meet industry demand.

With the Government’s proposal we have concerns that the new national institution will not respond to industry as quickly or efficiently as ITOs currently do.”

Reports indicate about 145,000 people are involved in apprenticeships or other on the job training, while about 110,000 are enrolled in polytechnics.

Many involved in the training industry, such as the Industry Training Federation (ITF) and Competenz, have been highly critical about the whole government proposal.

Workplaces will end up with less control over training, ITF chief executive Josh Williams says of the government’s “poorly thought through” apprenticeship reforms.

The reforms propose to transfer responsibility for industry training and apprenticeships away from employers and Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) to vocational providers, including a new national polytechnic, he says.

“These reforms will cause a huge upheaval in apprenticeships and on-the-job training.

Industry will lose ownership of a growing and increasingly efficient industry-run system.

“That would remove choice for local employers and limit their voice.
Businesses will lose access to both their local polytechnic and their industry-run ITO at the same time.” Williams says.

He believes the industry training sector was surprised to see the proposals as none of the governing parties campaigned on this change at the last election.

“Nobody is arguing that the system cannot be strengthened.

But we should strengthen what is working, rather than double down on what is not,” Williams says.

“In recent days the Minister of Education has been saying that with 15% of employers offering formal training, the system is not doing well.

Those 25,000 employers currently deliver more vocational education than the rest of the system combined, and twice as many vocational qualifications to twice as many learners as the polytechnic sector.

“I invite the minister to outline which part of the reform proposal he expects will increase the number of participating employers.

We can certainly see the part that risks losing the willing employers we have.

“Collectively, ITOs have spoken to thousands of our employers over the last six weeks, and there is widespread concern about this proposal,” Williams says.

“Our stakeholders do not feel sufficiently informed, nor adequately consulted, because they haven’t been.

“The proposals are already creating uncertainty in the sector and the upheaval will likely reduce the number of apprentices training in New Zealand.”

Competenz chief executive officer Fiona Kingsford says ITOs are already hugely responsive to apprentices’ needs, her organisation responsible for about 20,000 apprentices and trainees.

Kingsford points out that research indicates the industry training system produces more than 300 qualified people for every million dollars spent by the government in tertiary education, while polytechs produce about 50.

While there’s room for improvement, abolishing ITOs goes too far, she says.

And at a time when some skills shortages are critical, Kingsford says a reform that risks undermining workplace training and apprenticeships is the last thing needed.