PM promises to create 5000 more apprenticeships

Prime Minister Helen Clark

Labour has tossed another carrot the way of younger voters, promising to create 5000 more apprenticeship places.

Prime Minister Helen Clark announced the latest of her party's pledges in a speech to the Industry Training Federation Conference in Wellington this morning.

She said the additional apprentice places under the Government's Modern Apprenticeship scheme, which Labour introduced shortly after being elected, would bring the total to 14,000 in 2008 and showed the Government was committed to sustainable and quality growth in industry training.

"Industry training and Modern Apprenticeships have a vital role to play in ensuring that New Zealand has the skill base it needs to support a growing economy," Miss Clark said.

"The strong economic growth New Zealand has had during Labour's first two terms in office has created a big demand for skills."

Labour would also extend its Gateway programme, designed to help senior secondary students into work-based study, to all state high schools by 2007.

Investment in the Industry Training Fund has increased from $56.1 million in 1999 to $128.9 million for 2006.

The cost of the additional apprenticeships would be around $17m per year. Funding for the first 2000 was already provided for and future budgets would cover the remainder.

Extending the Gateway programme would cost around $10m a year -- it costs $18m per year at present. Provision would be in future budgets.

Miss Clark said 7760 young people had done Modern Apprenticeships and $30m was being spent on the scheme in this financial year.

"We are committed to ensuring that investment in tertiary education and training is spent in areas of relevance for learners, employers and the country as a whole."

She said Labour was putting money into needed training.

"We are committed to ensuring that investment in tertiary education and training is spent in areas of relevance for learners, employers and the country as a whole."

Labour would also:

* allow up to 20 per cent of Modern Apprentices in any industry to be aged over the current limit of 21,

* continue to work towards getting all 15-19 year-olds into some form of education, training or work by 2007,

* work with employers, unions, employees, industry training organisations and training providers to increase participation and quality and relevance of training,

* work with small and medium sized enterprises and the self-employed to lift training participation,

* continue support for the Skill New Zealand partnership with business and employer representatives to promote the trades as a career option for young people.

"A skilled workforce lifts productivity which in turn lifts the competitive edge of our industries," Miss Clark said.

"Employers need an increasingly well-trained workforce to deal with the ever-changing environment in which they operate and to compete successfully in the global marketplace."

Labour would not uncap industry training funding because of concerns that would create similar problems to those in polytechnics with high growth in low quality courses.

The Tertiary Education Commission would continue to allocate industry training and apprenticeship places. Apprentice schemes continued to target young people but room was being made for some older people who needed the support.

Labour's latest pledge announcement is part of its drive to continue the political momentum the party gained this week after announcing the election date and revealing its student loan policy.

Labour ministers believe the promise to scrap interest on student loans was popular with more than 460,000 people who have loans and their wider families.

The emphasis from Labour is now on maintaining momentum and revealing the rest of the pledge card promises before they are officially unveiled at Labour's campaign launch on August 21.

The last weeks of the campaign will then be spent on promoting the pledge card and attacking National.

National Education spokesman Bill English said Labour's announcement earlier in the week -- that student loans would be interest-free for people who remained in New Zealand -- would "bury" trade training.

"Just when young people were starting to look to the trades for good opportunities Labour have now made it much more attractive to go to university by offering interest free loans," Mr English said.

"It won't matter how many places they provide they are directing young people to university and away from the trades."

He also doubted the value of increasing the number of apprenticeships.

"I'm worried about Labour pushing numbers for the sake of it," he said.

"They should have learned from tertiary education that if you try and drive up the numbers you get low quality and rorts."

Mr English said there were already signs, such as high drop-out rates, in the apprenticeship system that there were quality problems.

"If they try and push thousands more through they will end up with rorts and dodgy courses."

- NZPA