Business NZ welcomes tertiary shake-up

19 July 2005

Business NZ welcomes tertiary shake-up

Business NZ has welcomed Government moves to shake up the tertiary sector as a positive move to increase the relevance of tertiary educations to jobs and the economy.

"We have consistently advocated that less public money be spent on courses with low relevance and value to the economy and so we welcome the Government's move," says Business NZ Chief Executive Phil O'Reilly.

"A large proportion of the money freed up should be used to increase numbers in industry training. The time is right for the Government to substantially boost industry training and publicly re-commit to the target of 250,000 in industry and trades training by 2007. This would represent a major step in addressing the crucial issue of skill shortages.

"Business NZ also supports the extra support for adult literacy and numeracy. These are the most fundamental skills in the workplace and we must as a country do better in these areas.

"While Business NZ sees the package of announcements as a positive move, we are anxious to ensure that short courses with a direct relevance to industry are protected from cuts. We will be working constructively with the public sector and industry training sector to ensure this happens."

ENDS

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