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Increased coverage and participation in industry training

In 2003, there were:

• 29,206 employers participating in industry training, an increase of 19 percent from 2002
• 126,870 trainees participating in industry training, an increase of 19 percent on 2002. During 2003, 14,181 national certificates were completed by trainees, an increase of 45 percent on 2002
• 6,259 Modern Apprentices as at 31 December, participating in industries covered by the 30 ITOs from which Modern Apprenticeships were available. Three new ITOs were added during the year.

Industries contributed at least $41.6 million in 2003 to the costs of industry training, an increase from $38.2 million in the previous year. Government invested $98.5 million in 2003 and $90.6 million in 2002.

The proportion of women in industry training increased slightly from 24 percent in 2002 to 25 percent in 2003. The proportion in Modern Apprenticeships increased from 7 to 8 percent in the same period.

ITO Leadership Plans

The Industry Training Amendment Act 2002 included a new role for ITOs to provide leadership on skill and training matters to the industries they represent.

Following consultation with key stakeholder groups, guidelines to assist ITOs to implement this new requirement were developed in 2003. Work is currently underway in the industry training sector to develop this new role. The TEC is taking a developmental approach to ITO implementation of this role, which will be assessed through the charters and profiles processes.

Skills Action Plan

The Skills Action Plan is a set of projects managed through the Department of Labour, involving a large number of agencies and departments and connecting with employers, industry clusters, trade unions, education providers, workers and students.

The Plan aims to:

• speed up the matching of people’s skills to the job opportunities that are currently available
• reduce skill shortages in the future by helping people to make informed decisions about education and training.

The Plan covers:

• improving access to information through the labour market portal WorkSite, which provides information on skills and work to a wide range of people, as well as the six-monthly publication workINSIGHT, which is aimed primarily at career advisors
• making greater use of local-level information through TEC quarterly reports on skills shortages, MSD’s online survey of work brokers and Career Services’ labour market information
• developing new information through the Job Vacancy Monitoring Programme and future development of the Employment Outcomes of Tertiary Education and Linked Employer-Employee Data project
• helping job-seekers make better choices through improved career information, advice and guidance (discussed in a later section)
• assistance for regional/industry problem-solving covering labour shortages, working with enterprises, developing ITO leadership roles (as discussed above), increased funding for industry training and Regional Skills and Employment Fora
• supporting skill development through extra funding for Modern Apprenticeships and Gateway, the youth transitions project (discussed under the foundation education strategy) and funding for small and medium-sized enterprises to engage with industry training
• immigration initiatives to attract global skills and talent.

Polytechnic Regional Development Fund

The year one review of the Polytechnic Regional Development Fund showed that the fund was having a positive effect on relationships between polytechnics and industries. In particular, the fund was starting to facilitate the development of new relationships between polytechnics and industries as well as further developing and deepening existing relationships. The review highlighted that polytechnics were becoming more aware of the need for students to have a pathway to employment as well as the need to work on curriculum alignment between secondary and tertiary institutions.

The fund was established in 2002 to enable and encourage polytechnics to further extend their partnerships with local industry and enterprise to develop skills-related initiatives that will support regional and economic development. By February 2004, three funding rounds had been completed and grants totalling $3.8 million had been awarded to 15 polytechnics for a variety of initiatives.

ITP Business Links Fund

This new fund, which is a component of the Innovation and Development Fund, was announced in September 2004. The fund is designed to develop the capability of institutes of technology and polytechnics (ITPs) to transfer knowledge and technical expertise to industry and to provide high-quality, relevant education and training to students. The fund will assist capability development by supporting ITPs to develop better and more productive working arrangements with business. ITPs will need to submit proposals in the form of a business-engagement plan which may cover at least one year but can also cover up to four academic years.

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• Table of Contents

• The State of Play

• Cross Strategy Indicators

• Raise foundation skills

• Skills for our knowledge society

• Strengthen research and knowledge creation

• Te rautaki mātauranga Māori

• Pacific people’s development and success

• Capability and quality

• Technical and Data Definitions