Indian delegation visits NZ to scope skills’ partnerships

Wellington Institute of Technology and Whitireia New Zealand

1 May 2013

PRESS RELEASE

Indian delegation visits New Zealand to scope skills’ partnerships

A delegation of government officials and industry representatives from India arrived in Auckland on Sunday to take part in a week-long tour of New Zealand’s vocational training institutions, industrial enterprises and industry training organisations.

“The visit is an opportunity for New Zealand to demonstrate its expertise in the vocational training and skills development sector and showcase our high-quality facilities and institutions,” says Education New Zealand General Manager, International Peter Bull.

“India has an ambitious target of skilling 500 million workers by 2022, and New Zealand is well-placed to help them to meet those challenges – both in terms of Indian students studying in New Zealand, and by the provision of New Zealand education products and services in India.

“India is New Zealand’s second-largest source country of international students and plays an important role in the future growth of New Zealand’s international education industry.

“I am confident that the links and connections fostered by this visit will result in some exciting plans for further collaborative activities between our education and industry partners,” says Mr Bull.

The visit is an outcome of the inaugural meeting of the India New Zealand Education Council (INZEC) jointly launched in India on October 2012 by Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, Steven Joyce, and Shri Kapil Sibal, former India Minister of Human Resources Department.

The Council, which has a jointly-funded annual budget of up to NZ$1 million, was set up to ensure greater co-operation in education between New Zealand and India and was announced in India in June 2011 by Prime Minister John Key.

The delegation is in New Zealand from Sunday 28 April to Friday 3 May and is visiting the Wellington Trades Academy on 1 May to learn more about school to vocational tertiary education transition and the success of New Zealand’s models of delivery. The Wellington Trades Academy is based at WelTec’s Petone campus and has nearly 100 students studying full-time at WelTec, at the same time as being enrolled at secondary school. The delegation’s visit will be hosted by the Chief Executive of WelTec, Dr Linda Sissons and Whitireia New Zealand’s Chief Executive, Don Campbell on behalf of the partnership between WelTec and Whitireia.

The delegation will also meet with some of the students from India who are studying at WelTec. India is WelTec’s biggest market for international students. Students study across a wide range of subject areas from business through to IT to addiction studies.

“We are very pleased to welcome this high level delegation from India to the Wellington Institute of Technology,” says WelTec Chief Executive Dr Linda Sissons. “Wellington is an important destination for international students. WelTec and Whitireia are working together to attract more international students to the region. We recognise the important contribution international students make to the economy and to the vibrancy of our campuses.”

ENDS

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