Hon Steven Joyce
Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment
Hon Hekia Parata
Minister of Education
14 July 2014 Media Statement
750 additional Trades Academy places for 2015
Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Education Minister Hekia Parata today announced that
5,250 student places will be available across New Zealand’s 22 Trades Academies in 2015. This is an increase of 750
places from the current allocation of 4,500 places.
Trades Academies provide opportunities for young people still enrolled in school to undertake part of their learning in
the tertiary sector. Trades Academies deliver programmes based on the new Vocational Pathways to provide more relevant
learning opportunities for vocationally focused students.
“Through Trades Academies, young people are gaining key work skills as well as the core literacy and numeracy they need
to move successfully into further study and work,” Mr Joyce says.
“Trades Academies are proving popular and successful at retaining young people in education, and they are supporting the
achievement of NCEA Level 2 and foundation-level industry qualifications.”
A Ministry of Education evaluation of the first three years of Trades Academies showed significant increases in
retention in education and achievement of NCEA Level 2 by students in Trades Academies.
“Eighty-three per cent of Trades Academy students achieve NCEA Level 2, compared with 70 per cent of non-Trades Academy
students with similar prior achievement,” Ms Parata says.
“This gives us real confidence that these new learning opportunities are the right way to go for many young people who
benefit from a clear sense of direction, and see how their learning is relevant for where they want to go.”
Mr Joyce says that Trades Academies, along with other Youth Guarantee opportunities and the new vocational pathways are
helping keep more young people in education for longer, and ensuring they leave school with the skills they need to get
into further education or employment.
"Trades Academies are a crucial programme for ensuring that every young person gets to participate in our growing
economy. And with the vocational pathways, students, families, and employers can be confident that students’ pathway
choices are relevant and well connected to job opportunities,” Mr Joyce says.
ENDS