Training down the drain - plumbing apprentices short-changed

Apprentices say some of their trades training has not been delivered, despite the Government committing more than $1 billion to the scheme. Fees free is about to end and some of the plumbing, gasfitting and drain-laying (PGD) apprentices who are going to have to start paying say they are behind in their training because courses haven't happened.

"I feel like the last 12 months have been wasted and in short I want to know where did all the funding go?" an apprentice in his second year told 1News.

He said his education provider only held one block course this year when there should have been three.

"I'm seven months behind in my apprenticeship and no one at my provider, Te Pūkenga or the Tertiary Education Commission, have been able to give me a straight answer to my questions on how or if I will be able to finish my apprenticeship on time - all I've got are excuses around Covid delays and the Te Pūkenga transition."

He said his courses this year weren't scheduled because of tutor shortages and the Skills Org to Te Pūkenga transition.

"Basically at our first block course this year they were making noises about how they were beginning to struggle to have enough instructors to hold courses, then my Skills manager left and I wasn't assigned a new one for ages."

He was later allocated a Skills manager after he complained.

"But I had her for about two months and she told me that block courses had been cancelled due to the Te Pūkenga transition and she would be leaving her role and I would get a new manager in early October."

To date the apprentice has still only completed one block course for all of 2022.

The Ministry of Education told 1News funding from the Government is given to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) which then passes it on to education providers to deliver learning.

But it's unclear where the funding went if training was under-delivered.

"It is estimated that there are 1250 apprentices in PGD that are over duration," Master Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers NZ chief executive Greg Wallace said.

"This means they won't complete in the normal five-and-a-half years of the apprenticeship as they haven't been able to complete their 18 block courses and then obtain their national certificate. For apprentices, that means they cannot move to tradesperson status, and that reduces their earning capacity."

Education Minister Chris Hipkins blames the pandemic for slowing down learning, but with restrictions eased in 2022, the number of block courses for some were still under-delivered.

Skills Org managed the roll-out of training until October this year when Te Pūkenga took over. Te Pūkenga is a result of a merger of the 16 institutes of technology and polytechnics and the 11 transitional industry training organisations (TITOs).

Wallace said the transition from Skills to Te Pūkenga was "appalling".

"But in essence they are trying to make tweaks to a broken system rather than work with industry to provide long-term solutions. Unless they take a more strategic approach, we will be having these conversations about poor training for the industry for many years," he said.

"They [Te Pūkenga ] were handed the problems, but also they knew about the problems as several staff from Skills transferred to Te Pūkenga. My view is the transition was not well thought out, and issues were not addressed prior to the transition."

Wallace also told 1News there was a tutor shortage but it still doesn't answer where the PGD sector's slice of the $1.6 billion pie went to.

Te Pūkenga chief executive Peter Winder was a little more diplomatic:

"In October Skills Org transferred some of its industry training functions to us including those for plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying. This transition has been more complex for Te Pūkenga than others, like BCITO, which were the lift and shift of an entire organisation.

"The Skills Org transition was also one of the last TITO moves and its timing has presented us with a number of challenges including the setting of fees for 2023."

He said PGD apprentices have been "particularly affected during Covid by the inability to complete the block courses required and no alternative training and assessment provided as part of their training programme".

"The protracted Auckland lockdown due to Covid-19 restrictions was a significant factor impacting the ability to deliver and attend block courses. Many apprentices should have completed their apprenticeship already but have not been able to through no fault of their own. We will be working with this group to ensure that they can complete the required block courses as quickly as possible in order to gain their qualification.

"We appreciate the industry's urgent need for qualified workers, and we appreciate the need for us to support learners who have faced significant disruption. We are working with our campuses across the country to remove any bottlenecks to block courses and ensure that learners and employers will be able to plan around a schedule of 2023 block courses before year end," Winder said.

Wallace said it's a lost opportunity given the shortage of PGD tradies in New Zealand.

"We estimate with MBIE, that we are between 3000-3500 short of qualified tradespeople in our sector in New Zealand," he said.

"In a recent Master Plumbers survey, the number one issue is finding qualified staff. At times there has been more than 2000 apprentices affected by over duration or delays on block courses. The Covid lockdown and the lack of online learning provided by the polytechs was quite simply abysmal."

Wallace is frustrated at the lack of delivery.

"Master Plumbers are spending an incredible amount of time advocating for the industry and it is like hitting our head against a brick wall. We need a comprehensive strategic approach which will include potentially creating a centre of excellence and consolidating some of the ridiculous training providers we currently have across New Zealand," Wallace said.

Hipkins is optimistic but can't account for the non-delivery of training in restriction-free 2022 - still putting it down to Covid.

"I am aware that some apprentices are taking longer to complete their apprenticeships as a result of Covid-19 related delays. This is nothing to do with the establishment of Te Pūkenga and everything to do with lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions.

"The establishment of Te Pūkenga provides an opportunity to improve the connections between on-the-job and off-the-job training so that things like pre-trades courses and block courses are better aligned with apprentice needs in the future.

"I'm confident Te Pūkenga is working hard to support those training to be plumbers, gasfitters and drain-layers and is working with industry leaders to review qualifications to make sure they meet actual need," Hipkins said.

Wallace said there were issues well before Covid.

"For the minister to blame Covid is not strictly true - Covid has exacerbated the issues across the polytechs, but we had delays prior to Covid that hadn't been addressed.

"I also suggest there has been no consideration for the mental health and well-being of the apprentices. In a time where they need the most support, a lot of them have been left out to dry," Wallace said.

Neither Winder nor Hipkins could say where the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship funding money went in the PGD training industry this year.

"That is a great question," Wallace said.

"We don't have a clear answer on this yet but we have asked the question of TEC."

The TEC's deputy chief executive of delivery Gillian Dudgeon told 1News a cross sector group is working through the recommendations from a report by Waihanga Ara Rau - the qualification and standard setting body for the plumbing sector - including developing new programmes which support more flexible ways of apprentices progressing through their training.

"The initial focus is on ensuring those plumber apprentices who have been negatively impacted during Covid can complete their apprenticeship as soon as possible. Te Pūkenga has advised that it is working with affected students to support them and get them through their training."

Dudgeon said the TTAF was a short-term support programme to encourage new trainees to join those industries. "Before that, trainees and/or employers funded their courses or made use of fees free.

"Many apprentices who started under TTAF could be eligible for two more years free training through the fees free programme," she said, adding apprentices can find out by checking the fees free website.

She made it clear TEC only funds training that is delivered and says it has the power to recover funding from training providers if training is not delivered.

"More than 240,000 learners have been supported by TTAF. This includes 4575 plumbing apprentices, with a value of delivery of $16.8m. The value of delivery comprises of compulsory course cost fees, compulsory student services fees, course tuition fees and delivered programme fees."