ACT would fund schools about $2000 for each industry-led subject a student takes and create Industry Awards to sit alongside University Entrance, under a new trades policy.
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The party also wants to fold STAR, Gateway, Trades Academies and Vocational Pathways into a single uncapped system. Funding would follow student enrolments within existing Education baselines.
ACT list candidate Paul Henry said the party would “end the university-first mindset”.
“New Zealand’s education system has been obsessed with pushing young people towards university,” he said in a statement.
“Trades are not a second-best option. For a bright, ambitious young person, becoming an electrician, builder, or mechanic can be the most intelligent decision they ever make.”
Schools would receive the per-subject funding for up to two approved industry-led subjects per student each year. They would also keep their base and equity funding when students left the school grounds for approved vocational courses.
Schools ‘building programmes alone’
Henry credited the Government with “a good start”. The NCEA replacement will include industry-led subjects developed with Industry Skills Boards, which were set up earlier this year. The Government has also moved funding from Fees Free to Trades Academies.
But Henry said Trades Academies places were capped and the programme had traditionally targeted students at risk of disengaging.
He named Ashburton College and Palmerston North Boys’ High as examples of strong local partnerships.
“The problem is, schools have largely had to build these programmes alone. ACT will build a proper national pathway so that choosing a trade is just as straightforward and respected as choosing university.”
Under the proposed Industry Awards, senior students would complete two industry-led subjects and a related academic subject, such as primary industries with agricultural science, biology or business. They could gain the award and University Entrance in the same year.
Henry said the award would show employers and training providers a student was ready for the next step, without becoming a requirement for an apprenticeship.
ACT said Industry Skills Boards would keep developing new subjects where employers wanted them. The party would also work with NZQA so credits from approved industry-led subjects could count towards apprenticeships after students left school.
“New Zealand needs skilled tradespeople just as much as university graduates,” Henry said.
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