The current review of vocational education, with the Government allocating more funds to encourage young people into training, will only work if it delivers the right support, says the MTA.
Chief executive Craig Pomare says the funds for employer-teachers and workplace classrooms is only part of the solution.
“You can throw all the money you like at getting more students, but without employers ready and able to take them on all you’ve got is a more disappointed and let down young people,” Pomare says.
“What we want to see from the Government is the same commitment to support the businesses owners who step up as teachers and open up their workplaces as a front-line of vocational education.”
Little effort has been made to train the trainer and to recognise the human and material investment employers put into the education system, Pomare says.
“For too long the policy and funding arguments have focussed around education institutions like universities, polytechnic and ITOs.
“We often hear how teaching is a specialised skill, yet the untrained employer-teacher is just expected to box on and do the best they can. And that’s without even considering the intricacies of the vocational skill they’re actually teaching to the apprentice.”
Pomare says the Government, the new Institute of Skills and Technology, and the Workforce Development Councils must address the gap as part of the implementation of the Review of Vocational Education.
