Message from the AST Trust

Adapting our skillsets to meet future demands

Now that the election is over we can continue focussing on developing people and businesses. Invariably this includes training and education, and as society and the economy evolve we need to identify areas to upskill in, or learn something new. Some tried and true skillsets and knowledge-bases remain key, and perhaps that is one of the bigger challenges ahead of us – what do we retain (for genuine reasons, that will add value), and what of an array of new ideas, practices, and tools do we adopt.

On a more practical level, its pleasing to see some recent policy having an immediate impact. The Targeted Training and Apprentice Fund (TTAF) is attached to programmes of economic relevance and importance. The fees for these programmes are subsidised for the learner, with the list including Construction (at various levels, from entrylevel to Diploma), and other core trades, as well as some Primary Industries.

The Industry Training Providers (ITP) and Industry Training Organisations (ITO) sectors have seen a strong response as a result, with full-time and part-time enrolments well up on previous years. This bodes well for the medium-long term skill demand for the industry.

Alongside this is the Apprenticeship Boost, essentially a training subsidy for employers. The uptake of this is steadily increasing – it provides the opportunity for employers to start or continue training, and especially where they otherwise not have been able to.

For more information on the subsides on offer visit https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/work/apprenticesupport/index.html Some certainty provided by the Labour government being returned to power is the progression of the vocational education reforms (RoVE).

Work across the various parts of this is continuing, and will ramp up over the coming months, with perhaps the biggest impact being the transition of ITO trainees to Te Pūkenga – NZ Institute of Skills and Technology, by early 2023. This is a significant shift, with those leading it very mindful of the need to keep people informed, and minimise disruption to current training.

Even with the various subsidies on offer, there is still evidence of some apprentices in the Industry Training Association Building (ITAB)/ITP system struggling – typically with managing family/household expenses, or travel and time off to attend block courses. The Apprenticeship Scholarship Trust (AST) continues to support these apprentices in a number of ways, and the support we receive from New Zealand Certified Builders members and regional committees, is much appreciated.