Work focus for new courses

Tertiary education is a passport to improved skills, higher wages, increased productivity and a growing economy. Building a more competitive and productive economy is one of this Government's priorities.

National wants to help students get the skills and qualifications they need to succeed. As a Government, we need to constantly refine our approach, to ensure we are meeting the needs of our young people, beneficiaries and employers too.

So we are making some changes to foundation education.

The Foundation-Focused Training Opportunities (FFTO) programme will be replaced with an expanded range of more effective programmes that will help beneficiaries and young people get into work.

There'll be more places at ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses, more places at intensive literacy and numeracy courses, and more training courses to help beneficiaries get into work.

And all foundation education level 1 and 2 courses will be fees-free for 20 to 24-year-olds from next year.

We've had real success getting young people into work with job subsidies and short work-focused courses. Now we want to expand this to allow beneficiaries to achieve qualifications that meet the needs of employers and the wider labour market.

At the same time the Government's Youth Guarantee scheme will be expanded from 16 and 17-year-olds to include 18 and 19-year-olds from January 1 2014.

This will give even more young adults the opportunity to achieve Level 1 and 2 qualifications.

The Government established the scheme in 2008 for students who find the traditional classroom environment challenging, and who are at risk of dropping out of school.

It's a scheme that encourages students to gain practical qualifications that will set them up for a range of career options, including in priority trade areas such as carpentry, engineering, agriculture, horticulture, plumbing, gas-fitting, and brick and block-laying.

The new changes mean that anyone under the age of 25 will be able to obtain a level 2 qualification without paying fees, whether it's at a secondary school, in a Youth Guarantee programme, or through a tertiary provider such as a private training establishment.

Level 1 and 2 courses deliver core foundation skills required for success in life.

They provide students with the attributes required for higher level vocational study, training and employment.

This Government has progressively improved foundation courses over the last four years, by making sure all courses include literacy and numeracy components; by specifically developing qualifications that are relevant to a particular industry; and by focusing the system on the delivery of full qualifications.

National will continue improving tertiary education. But tertiary education is not just about going to university and spending three years studying accountancy. We remain focused on lifting achievement and ensuring better outcomes for all students - and for taxpayers.

It's a win-win solution and one that I know will benefit Rangitikei.

School doesn't work for everyone. To be able to provide even more of our young people with an opportunity to increase their skills, to achieve a formal qualification and be work-ready and keen to make a positive contribution as an employee is great.

One last thing - The local body elections are almost upon us. I encourage all of you to have your say, make your voice heard and vote!