WelTec Responsiveness to Industry and Economy Highlighted

27 May 2015

WelTec Responsiveness to Industry and Economy Highlighted

More than 9 out of 10 Wellington employers say they are satisfied with the work readiness of WelTec graduates, and WelTec graduates rate highly in terms of suitability for the future needs of business.

In an independent survey of almost 200 employers 94% of those employing WelTec graduates responded that they are satisfied with the applied practical learning delivered by WelTec and our graduates meet their needs. The knowledge, skills and attitudes of recent WelTec graduates were rated highly by employers as did the applicability of WelTec training and the relevance of WelTec qualifications to employers’ needs in the survey undertaken by Dr Virgil Troy of SIL Research.

“The 2015 Employer Satisfaction Survey shows the value of the relationships WelTec has built with industry groups and employers over the past years, and the way feedback from industry, employers, and other stakeholders has been taken into consideration when planning and delivering programmes of study. The survey also backs up WelTec’s approach to teaching, which integrates work experience with study,” says Chief Executive Chris Gosling.

At the same time, WelTec conducted a Graduate Employment Outcomes Survey of graduates which shows that very soon after completing their qualification 80% of WelTec graduates are employed or pursuing higher level qualifications. Almost 20% are work ready.

The responses from the Graduate Employment Outcomes Survey were independently matched against the Employer Survey. This showed that not only do employers rate WelTec graduates highly, but the graduates themselves also rate the outcomes of their WelTec training and education on a par with employers. (See table below.)

“Recent feedback from an international delegation to WelTec from the European Union was that this type of needs matching based on evaluating evidence from many stakeholders, and then showing the degree of comparability of outcomes and expectations between the main client groups is an example of international best practice,” says Chris Gosling.

“There is no doubt that applied tertiary education adds value to business through the provision of a highly skilled workforce. WelTec is adding to the capability and capacity, and hence the performance, of the regional and national economies by educating and training the workforce and by supporting enterprises through research and business services.

“WelTec’s wider economic contribution is substantial especially since WelTec’s education and training provision aligns closely with the region’s and the country’s growth strategies,” says Chris Gosling.

Background Information

8524 students studied with WelTec in 2014. This equated to 4101 Equivalent Full-time Students. 19% of these students state that they had no formal secondary school qualification on enrolment.

81% of courses enrolled in by SAC funded students in 2014 were successfully completed.

Figures provided by Business and Economic Research Ltd. (BERL) show that WelTec generated a total of just less than $100M expenditure in the Wellington regional economy and $131M in the national economy in 2014. Similarly, the expenditure generated a total of $65M in GDP (i.e. value added) in the regional economy and $89M in the national economy.

WelTec’s direct employment is estimated to have generated total employment of 525 regionally and 748 nationally.

The 2015 Employer Satisfaction Survey can be found on the following link:

http://weltec.ac.nz/ABOUTWELTEC/StrategyDocumentsandPublications/tabid/624/Default.aspx

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