The current vocational education system in New Zealand has been in place for just over 25 years and it has had mixed success. How will the current reforms be viewed in 25 years’ time? In this article we continue to take a first principles look at vocational education and see how things could be better (or worse) over the next 25 years.

The current vocational education system in New Zealand has been in place for just over 25 years and it has had mixed success. How will the current reforms be viewed in 25 years’ time? In this article we begin to take a first principles look at vocational education and see how things could be better (or worse) over the next 25 years.

School leaver attainment data for 2018 was released last week and some key indicators are negative. Attainment at NCEA Level 2 and above is down slightly while the number of school leavers with no qualifications is up. We delve into the data and outline why policy makers should be concerned.

On 1 August 2019 Chris Hipkins, Minister of Education, announced plans for ‘A unified system for all vocational education’. The announcement outlined significant changes to the way the vocational education system in New Zealand will be structured over the coming years.

Since the review of vocational education (RoVE) was announced in February, the vocational education (VE) sector has been in a state of flux. Final decisions on the RoVE are likely to be released soon (leaks are already starting), which will provide some certainty to engaged in VE. But will the proposed changes really transform the VE sector?

Lifting the skills and opportunities available for Māori has been one of the key priority areas of the government’s Wellbeing Budget. Plenty has been written about the socio-economic, health and other challenges facing Māori over the past couple of decades, yet many of these interrelated issues remain.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins recently appeared before the Education and Workforce select committee to face a barrage of schooling related questions, but with little focus on tertiary education. However, just before his appearance, tertiary education data for 2018 and updated tertiary education forecasts were released, casting some light on the tertiary sector.

Infometrics’ comprehensive regional forecasting model shows that between 2018 and 2022 there will be 600,000 jobs that need to be filled due to new job growth or replacement demand (people moving roles that need to be replaced).

On 26 June, Infometrics will release our take on key megatrends likely to affect the NZ and specific sectors at the Infometrics sponsored Industry Training Federation conference. The theme of this conference is ‘Skills in a Changing World’, which will bring together thought leaders from Government, industry, and the education system to consider these themes at global, national, local, and workplace levels.

The prediction by Winston Peters of an economic correction or slowdown, made at the time of last October’s coalition announcement, appears to be coming true. Infometrics’ latest forecasts see New Zealand’s economic growth slowing to 2.4%pa by the end of this year and slipping below 2.0%pa during 2019.