Local decisions from polytechnics back in local hands
Vocational education is one of the most important tools we have to grow our economy, support local jobs and give New Zealanders practical pathways into meaningful work.
That is why this government is making big, necessary changes to rebuild a system that works — for learners, for employers and for the future of New Zealand.
From January 1, 2026, regionally governed polytechnics will be re-established, subject to legislation currently before Parliament.
This is a major step forward in restoring local decision-making and ensuring our vocational training system is responsive, flexible and financially sustainable.
Under the overly centralised model of Te Pūkenga, it has been difficult for polytechnics to meet the real needs of their communities.
Local employers, industries and learners have told us clearly: one-size-fits-all doesn't work. It is time for change.
Returning decision-making to the regions is where those closest to local labour markets understand what skills are needed and how best to deliver them.
Regional polytechnics will once again be able to tailor training to the priorities of their communities — and they will do so in partnership with employers and industry leaders.
That is great news for Otago, where Otago Polytechnic helps power the regional economy by equipping people with the skills employers need. Restoring local governance means Otago Polytechnic can now respond more directly to economic demand and growth opportunities.
The government is phasing in these changes carefully to ensure stability and success. While some polytechnics will be ready to transition to regional governance from January 1, others will stay within Te Pūkenga for now as they work towards financial and operational viability.
Decisions on their future will be made in the first half of next year.
These reforms are part of the Education and Training (Vocational Education and Training System) Amendment Bill, which is currently before the education and workforce select committee. We expect the Bill to pass in October, following a thorough public consultation process.
I want to thank all those who took the time to make submissions. Your feedback has shaped a better, stronger model that reflects the needs and ambitions of local communities.
Te Pūkenga will continue to operate as a transitional entity for up to a year, to manage unallocated programmes and support a smooth handover.
The legislation also provides tools for responsible management, including provisions for mergers or closures where a polytechnic cannot return to financial viability.
Vocational education serves more than 250,000 learners every year. That's a quarter of a million people building their futures, their industries and their communities.
Our job is to make sure they are getting the right skills, in the right place, at the right time.
This is about more than education. It is about regional jobs, stronger local economies and ensuring industries have access to the skilled workforce they need to grow.
Regional polytechnics don't just train people — they employ thousands across the country and they help regions thrive.
We are rebuilding a vocational education system that delivers on its promise — equipping people with the skills they need, supporting local businesses and backing regional success.
That's the kind of system New Zealand deserves. And that's exactly what we are building.
• Penny Simmonds, the National MP for Invercargill and Minister for Vocational Education, is a former chief executive of SIT.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
Byelection: Te Pāti Māori candidate contender cops flak for supporting Labour MP's selection
'The party was quite disappointed at that, to be totally honest. I've just gone, well, I'm just going to sit back here and ... we have to allow the people to speak.' Panapa had worked in Parliament for former Tāmaki Makaurau MP Takukai Moana Natasha Kemp before her death after a battle with kidney disease. Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp with Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere on election night in 2023. Photo / Mike Scott Continuing Kemp's work had motivated Panapa to offer himself to be her successor. However, he was narrowly beaten by Kaipara by about 30 votes from a crowd of up to 350 people, he estimated, during Te Pāti Māori's selection process last week. Over the weekend, Labour selected Henare - a former Tāmaki Makaurau MP of three terms - as its candidate to contest the byelection set for September 6. Panapa attended Henare's selection event at Ngā Whare Waatea Marae in Mangere and posted to social media, congratulating the Labour MP and thanking him for acknowledging Kemp. A few days later, Panapa again took to social media to 'clear a lot of the noise' having been 'hammered, good and bad, from all ends' for his comments. 'It's okay to be passionate, but let's keep the discourse respectful,' Panapa wrote. 'To clarify, Peeni is my whanaunga, and before politics, we're whānau and Māori first. 'However, Takutai's influence led me to Te Pāti Māori, and I've come to appreciate and support their unapologetic stance on being Māori in spaces that often threaten our existence.' Panapa said his post had prompted some to believe he had left Te Pāti Māori and was joining Labour. 'Peeni had some beautiful words to say about Takutai, so I tended to listen to that. 'It was never about going against the party.' Panapa said he hadn't heard from Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere, also his grandmother's first cousin, about the matter, saying he believed Tamihere 'understood where I was coming from'. Former Manurewa Marae youth advisor Te Kou o Rehua Panapa in Parliament. Photo / Supplied Tamihere has been approached for comment. Still a Te Pāti Māori member, Panapa said he had not decided whether to endorse one specific candidate. He had also not considered whether he would contest next year's election, despite being asked by Te Pāti Māori if he would want to run in an Auckland general seat. Panapa said it remained an open question whether, should he run, he did so for Te Pāti Māori, Labour or the Green Party. As for the byelection, Panapa suspected Kaipara would 'give it a good go' against Henare, whom he had worked for previously across three campaigns. 'Peeni's done some amazing work here in Tāmaki Makaurau but I personally think [Kaipara] could win this on the party, on the back of the party.' Citing his experience working with South Auckland youth, Panapa explained what might have been considered 'radical' views from Te Pāti Māori in the past were now attracting a growing young Māori audience in Auckland. '[Previously], it was grandparents-driven and you voted for Labour and that was it. 'That's changed now, I think it's more the young people making decisions for themselves to vote.' He encouraged candidates to avoid political sparring and focus on improving what was typically a low voter turnout. 'What both parties don't realise is that our people, especially South Auckland people, if there's too much narrative and it's too complicated, they don't turn up and vote. 'That's the problem, so the focus must be on getting people there to vote.' Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald's Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.
The Spinoff
an hour ago
- The Spinoff
Echo Chamber: Shane Jones, greatest ever Australian politician?
Nearly 30,000 New Zealanders crossed the ditch last year. Could the minister for resources be next? Echo Chamber is The Spinoff's dispatch from the press gallery, recapping sessions in the House. Columns are written by politics reporter Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Wellington editor Joel MacManus. The last time the 54th parliament of New Zealand was gathered in the House for question time was about two weeks ago. Back then, the price of butter was the main thing on the minds of the Labour Party caucus, who appeared to see the rising cost of dairy products as a sign of the end times. On Tuesday, the new objective was to put the spotlight on the nearly 30,000 New Zealanders who left the country for Australia in 2024. So long as there remains plenty of problems to pin to the government, Labour won't have to make the effort to dream up any of its own policies. There have been two significant changes in the House since then as well. The death of Takutai Tarsh Kemp leaves an open seat for either Labour to bring in the next candidate on its list or for former broadcaster Oriini Kaipara to make her parliamentary debut for Te Pāti Māori, depending on who wins the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection on September 6. And, following the sudden departure of NZ First MP Tanya Unkovich, the House welcomed a new politician into its fold: David Williams. There was heckling from the opposition benches right off the bat when Labour leader Chris Hipkins rose to ask prime minister Christopher Luxon whether he stood by the government's actions, which he took as an opportunity to laud vocational education minister Penny Simmonds' recent Te Pūkenga restructure announcement, but the jeers drowned him out. When Hipkins came back with 'how many Kiwis have left New Zealand since he became prime minister?', a group of high school students sitting in the public gallery gasped 'ooouusshh!' Resources minister Shane Jones, answering a question from NZ First MP Andy Foster about economic growth in his sector, announced – 'with characteristic modesty' – that he had recently travelled to Singapore and Sydney, and amazed his peers by waxing lyrical about overturning the 'foolish' ban on oil and gas exploration and giving a 'glowing account' of the fast-track laws, the 'most permissive regime in Australasia'. The Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick raised her eyebrows. Jones' characteristic modesty shone through again. 'I have endeavoured to assure investors in the resources sector that we have decriminalised the coal industry,' the minister declared. 'I had the privilege of addressing a host of mining investors [and] professionals in Sydney … They regard the quality of leadership I have shown on behalf of the government of such stature that they invited me to be a politician in Canberra.' 'Take it up!' Labour's Duncan Webb jeered. It's good to know that despite burgeoning opportunities overseas, our best talent stays at home. It wasn't over there. NZ First leader and foreign affairs minister – as he liked to remind his coalition partners before he entered the House on Tuesday – Winston Peters decided to rise and ask the minister if he was saying he'd stop 'virtue signalling' by using local coal rather than 'inferior' offshore coal? It gave Brownlee a moment to consider the importance of phrasing – well, he said, that question is sort of interesting, 'because it's hardly factual as soon as you say 'virtue signalling', but anyway'. When health minister Simeon Brown took patsies from fellow National Party MP Carlos Cheung, it gave deputy prime minister David Seymour a chance to show off his wealth of knowledge on political theory by quoting China's former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping: 'Does the minister subscribe to the philosophy … that it doesn't matter if the cat is black or white, so long as it catches the mice?' Brown grinned and rose to his feet, but Brownlee wouldn't let him answer – it would only be a reasonable question, the speaker said, if the minister was some kind of expert in rodent control. The Act Party leader sought leave for his question to be answered, but was shut down again. 'Well, the House is the master of its own destiny,' Seymour said, sagely. Then Swarbrick's voice popped up: 'Get a grip!' Back on the brain drain, Labour's jobs and income spokesperson Ginny Andersen wanted to know whether finance minister Nicola Willis thought the government was doing enough to 'deliver jobs' despite the tens of thousands headed across the Tasman. Andersen quoted Luxon and Seymour's sentiments that Aotearoa is where the opportunities are and having people leave is 'bad', to which Seymour took offence. Who would want a deputy prime minister who thinks New Zealanders leaving the country is a good thing, Seymour asked, then suggested that such a thing might be possible if the New Zealander doing the leaving was Ginny Andersen. His comment had Brownlee reminding the House, yet again, that question time is not an opportunity to attack the opposition. Up in the backbenches, Labour MP Shanan Halbert made his read of Seymour's comments clear: 'Misogynist!' Maybe Seymour could've tried it a different way: it doesn't matter if the cat is in New Zealand or Australia, as long as it still agrees the government is doing a good job.
Scoop
2 hours ago
- Scoop
Government Delivers Lifeline For Flood-Affected Farmers
Federated Farmers are welcoming the announcement of a $600,000 Government support package to help flood-affected farmers in the Nelson Tasman region get back on their feet. "This funding is desperately needed to support recovery efforts on the ground and will make a real difference for farming families," says Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford. "We're incredibly grateful that the Government have recognised this need early and taken practical steps that will allow clean-up work to get underway immediately." The Government package includes $50,000 for the Farmers Adverse Events Trust, established by Federated Farmers, and will be matched dollar-for-dollar by donations from other farmers. Langford has visited many impacted farmers over the past fortnight, and will be on the ground again today surveying the damage and assessing what further support might be needed. "Each farm is completely different. Some have only had minor damage that they will be able to fix themselves, but others will definitely need some significant help," Langford says. "That's where Federated Farmers are going to be focusing most of our efforts. We need to prioritise those who have been hit hardest and then work our way out from there. "What this $50,000 from the Government means is that we can start work almost immediately with diggers, bulldozers and fencers from later this week. "That's the kind of support these farmers need the most right now. They need boots on the ground, shovels in the dirt, and heavy machinery starting to roll in." Langford says Federated Farmers will be playing a key role in coordinating this work but more donations will still be required to fund recovery efforts over the coming weeks. "We really need New Zealanders to get in behind these farmers with donations. It doesn't matter if they're large or small, every dollar counts and will make a difference." If you would like to donate, you can do this directly through your internet banking or by calling into your nearest bank branch. The Farmers Adverse Events Trust is a registered charity and donation receipts will be available. 100% of the funds received will go directly to support farming families on the ground. Account Number: 06-0594-0028181-30 Please use your name or organisation's name as a reference.
