UCOL’s Special Blend For Skills Gap

UCOL reported to Te Pūkenga last week on new blended programmes of study to be provided across New Zealand from 2022. Five new programmes of study use a true blended delivery approach - face to face, self-directed and workplace learning. The five programmes are part of a project which will be completed by December 2022. They are:

· Construction Trades Supervision Level 5*

· Cookery Level 4

· Cookery Level 5

· Enrolled Nursing Level 5

· Electrical Engineering Level 3

*UCOL is working with Toi Ohomai, Whitireia and WelTec, Manukau Institute of Technology.

COVID has had a dramatic effect on the training and vocational education in New Zealand. Business is constrained by the New Zealand labour market; fewer people are in study; net migration outflows are predicted; people are stopping study to move into jobs; others are avoiding starting study because they would have to stop work to do so. Done well, blended delivery offers a strong solution to employer skills gaps, worker career advancement, and falling enrolments for Te Pūkenga.

Blended delivery means resources, support and delivery are planned in advance with flexible options that support learners where they are. Those options are agreed in collaboration with employers, industries, and their training organisations. This is a new approach for vocational education in New Zealand with benefits for everyone. It offers the support and flexibility to learn in different settings – much more than lectures on YouTube.

UCOL chief executive officer Linda Sissons said: “Collaboration with employers, industries and their training organisations is a critical part of the Blended Delivery Project and is key to the success of the Reform of Vocational Education (ROVE)”.

The Blended Delivery project report can be found here.

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