Wellington, Beehive, May 19, 2016 - An additional $9.6 million over four years will provide for more Māori and Pasifika Trades Training (MPTT) as demand for the programme continues to grow, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell say.

“This funding will provide places for 2,500 young Māori and Pasifika learners in MPTT programmes this year, and 3,400 next year, up from just 1,200 in 2014,” Mr Joyce says.

“We are targeting 5,000 learners annually by 2019 as we encourage young Māori and Pasifika to take up a trade and help meet some of the emerging shortages in construction and infrastructure trades particularly.”

Mr Flavell says the Government wants to boost the number of young Māori and Pasifika in employment, education or training, and with the qualifications needed for entry into sustainable employment.

“MPTT gets tertiary providers, employers, and Māori and Pasifika communities working together in consortia to recruit and support learners in pre-trades training and to broker them into employment. There are now consortia in most regions, including a new consortium in Manawatu-Whanganui,” he says.

Mr Joyce says MPTT participants are more likely to complete their programmes than similar learners studying for the same qualifications, and are more likely to progress to an apprenticeship.

“MPTT can help reduce skills shortages and welfare dependency at the same time, and provide these young people with a rewarding career,” he says.

The Tertiary Education Commission has encouraged MPTT consortia to expand the range of trades offered, to recruit young people who are not in employment, education and training and, with support from the Ministry for Women, to recruit more female, especially in fields of strong employer demand in which women are underrepresented.

“In 2015, 23 per cent of learners in MPTT were women. Women had higher completion rates than their male counterparts. We need more women trainees to help meet the growing need for skilled people in areas like construction and the primary industries,” Mr Joyce says.

The additional $9.6 million, funded from a contingency established in Budget 2015, means young people can progress directly to MPTT from school or other training at 16 or 17 years of age, rather than waiting until they turn 18. The maximum age for entry was also raised, from 34 to 40 years of age. Brokerage funding increased from $733 to $1,000 per student, with 30 per cent of this paid only when learners progress to workplace-based training such as a New Zealand Apprenticeship.