National in apprentice 'u-turn'

The Government says National has made another u-turn by reversing a 2000 pledge by a former MP to axe the "modern apprenticeships" scheme.

National education spokesman Bill English said yesterday the scheme would be kept but altered and more money would be ploughed into industry training. He denied that was a u-turn.

"More apprentices, that's what we focus on. We have yet to see whether the modern apprenticeship bureaucracy is effective."

Education Minister Trevor Mallard revealed nearly 140,000 people were involved in industry training last year, an increase of 10 per cent on the year before. Of those 7175 were in modern apprenticeships.

He said Labour had doubled industry training money since 1999 to $120 million this year, and was on track to reach $136.7 million by 2007.

Mr Mallard said National had promised to abolish the apprenticeships scheme in 2000, but welcomed the change of heart.

During debate on the Apprenticeship Training Bill in November 2000, former National MP Max Bradford said: "This legislation is pathetic, just like the scheme behind it, and the sooner we get rid of it the better."

Mr Mallard said Mr English's latest statement was an "absolute reversal" of National's previous position but one he welcomed for coming into line with modern opinion.

Mr English said he would lift the "stupid" cap on the funding of industry training organisations.

He said National would also end the huge number of "dodgy" sub-degree courses highlighted over the last few months, the latest example being a course in animal homeopathy offered in Auckland.

"Labour clearly has endless money for low-value courses that even it doesn't have confidence in, but not nearly enough for the thousands of young people who want to learn a trade," he said.

Mr English said that in the last two years the Government had spent $159 million more on the controversy-wracked Te Wananga O Aotearoa than it had on trades training.

Between 2000 and 2003 the Government spent at least five times as much on sub-degree courses - the type now under review for their value for money - as it did on trades training, he said.

Mr English said National would boost funding for apprenticeships as queues of people were trying to join a limited number of places.

Rise in industry training

* 139,597 trainees were in industry training during 2004, up 10 per cent on 2003.

* Of the trainees, 7175 were in the modern apprentices scheme at the end of last year.

* Industry training funding has doubled since 1999 and by 2007 will reach $136.7 million annually.