The Industry Training Federation is dismayed by advice from the PPTA’s Secondary Principals’ Council that schools consider limiting enrolments in Trades Academies to protect staffing grants.

“Trades Academies are proving to be the motivating reason some young people stay in education and achieve qualifications,” says ITF Chief Executive Josh Williams.

Trades Academy students remain enrolled in school, but spend part of their time gaining technical and employability skills through tertiary education providers and workplaces. Ministry of Education reports show that

Trades Academies are having a positive impact on students’ staying in education and achieving qualifications.
An adjustment to the funding calculation for Trades Academies has removed an element of double funding between the secondary and tertiary components of these programmes.

“We appreciate that the funding picture for schools is complex, but this change should not be used as an excuse to disengage from collaborative programmes where resources are shared between schools and tertiary education organisations,” says Josh.

“Our young people have a wide range of interests, aspirations, and learning needs. Secondary schools have a critical role to help students find their pathways to success, including those who would benefit from a blended programme of academic and technical learning.

“A learner-centred system provides young people with choices about how and where they can learn, and delivers the skills students will need to succeed in their next steps.
“The Secondary Principal Council’s advice is self-serving, and not in the best interests of students. Principals are right to not feel good about it” Josh says.

The ITF is the collective voice for the industry training and apprenticeships sector in New Zealand