Project

VET in New Zealand – reform, constitution and innovation

Vocational education and training (VET) in New Zealand is currently undergoing a radical change. The current reform (ROVE), which began in 2019, has not yet been completed. A key measure was the foundation of the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (Te Pūkenga), which divides the nation’s 16 polytechnics into four regional centres and extends their role in the field of basic education and training. The study analysed VET structures in New Zealand and the economy’s view on how they are organised.

A woman on a road crew operates a stop sign at a hazard area on a rural road in Canterbury, New Zealand
Adobe Stock/Sheryl

New Zealand urgently requires specialists in various occupational fields. However, until now vocational training – in terms of its equivalent to the Swiss apprenticeship - is placed at level 4 in the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). Apprenticeships are primarily available in the trades and construction industry. This is set to change with the intention that VET programmes will include more workplace or work-integrated learning. A national reform of the VET system and the associated extensive reconstitution of the participating institutions represents a huge challenge for all stakeholders in the system. The New Zealand universities have also recognised that more must be done to improve the employability of their graduates and the first work-integrated programmes or courses have been developed. The trend towards more real work experience in the context of tertiary-level education continues.

In view of the VET reform and consequent changes, the following research questions were addressed in collaboration with researchers from New Zealand.

  • How is the governance of New Zealand’s VET system structured?
  • How is learning coordinated between practical application and polytechnics? How can practical and theoretical learning be better aligned?
  • What are the attitudes and beliefs of the people involved in the system about the future structure of VET in New Zealand?

Based on the data acquired, a comparative analysis was carried out on the topics of opportunities and risks of the VET reform, attitudes, values and beliefs of stakeholders regarding initial training and the training and development of VET teaching staff.

Method

Information about the reform and consequent restructuring of the VET system were obtained by means of qualitative, semi-structured interviews. Interview partners were apprentices, instructors, teaching staff and management at polytechnics, representatives of sector organisations and education authorities, university academics and government representatives. The interviews were transcribed and will be evaluated and analysed with academics from New Zealand.

Results

All participants interviewed showed great interest in the research project due to the very extensive and far-reaching reform of the VET system and the questions that this presents. In response, numerous presentations were held on Switzerland’s VET system with reflections and initial findings on the state of VET in New Zealand. The New Zealand VET system has undergone fundamental reform resulting in the reconstitution of its institutions with the aim of improving efficiency, including more minority groups and increasing the practical relevance of training programmes. The functions of individual newly established or planned institutions – particularly those relating to the world of employment – must be more clearly differentiated and distinguished from one another. Increasing practical relevance and integrating learning into practical application are a challenge for the polytechnics. The extensive personnel change throughout the reform and resulting temporary shortcomings in respect to reform implementation causes uncertainty among all participants. Greater focus on practical relevance is welcomed and called for, particularly to address the shortage of specialists. The training of teaching staff is not sufficiently well structured and requires expansion and professionalisation. Apprenticeships are only available for a small number of occupations and should be extended. The conditions of dual-track training differ significantly from those in Switzerland in terms of the age of participants, the qualifications of teaching staff and instructors, working conditions, level of school education, remuneration and quality standards.

An agreement was signed on VET cooperation between Switzerland, New Zealand and Australia as part of the Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN) (see New partnerships in Australia and New Zealand).