Penny Simmonds: Vocational Education Minister on the Government giving regional control to 10 polytechnics

The Government's assuring industry groups they'll still have influence as polytechnics change.

Next year, 10 polytechs will return to regional governance - but four remain under Te Pūkenga's umbrella.

More decisions will be made mid-next year. 

Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds says these 10 institutions are following a planned pathway designed to boost long-term viability.

"This is work that should have happened 5-6 years ago, it's happened now - and they are getting rid of the wasteful spending, they are getting themselves back on track."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The government's returning ten polytechnics into local hands from next year.
It's the latest move to unwind the previous government centralized
mega institute that was tapooking you might have heard of.
It is going from January. First, Southern Institute of Technology,
why Cutter Institute of Technology, un Tech, Institute of Technology
and Otago among others will return. Penny Simmons is the

(00:21):
Minister for Vocational Education. Minister, good evening, Good evening, Ryan.
So we did the tapooking a thing because the polytechs
weren't working, and now we're undoing that and the polytechs
are back. Why will they work this time?

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Well, many of them were working, but there was financial
work that needed to be undertaken. We've done that. We've
had financial advisors in with each of the polytechnics over
the last year plotting a pathway to financial viability. They
are now following that pathway. These ten that are going
to be stood up a following that pathway to viability.
This is work that should have happened five or six

(00:56):
years ago. It's happened now and they are getting rid
of the wasteful spending. They are getting themselves back on
track to be sustainable.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
What were they spending money on?

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Ah look at was really looking through their course offerings
where they are offering things that didn't have enough students
in them, so the programs weren't viable and so having
to work through or that in some instances down as
low as two or three people in a course and
they were still running them.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
How many univers how many politics were doing that?

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Oh, that would be quite wide ranging across the polytech system.
So that sort of work had to be done. It
should have always been done in the polytechnics that were
financially viable. It was being done as a matter of course,
but some that had got themselves in trouble just weren't
in that financial discipline.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
We're paying attention. So have you written it into the
rules that that cannot happen?

Speaker 2 (01:52):
You know?

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Do they have to constantly review and if there are
classes with two or three people in them then they
must cancel.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
So what's written into the legislation is that if polytechnics
are not financially sustainable, there are there is provision for
mergers and closures. So they have been given these pathways
to financial viability. They've been worked through with financial advisors
and the senior management team. They will have local councils appointed,

(02:22):
local management appoint it. It's up to them to make
sure they stick the path.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
When's when you say when they get viable? When is
that for all of them?

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Look, most of them, it's next year. It's next year
or twenty twenty seven. There's some that have got a
very small death sit next year, but most next year
or twenty seven.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
What's cost us tax PA all up to go full
to pooking and then unwind.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Look it costs well, the previous government spent over three
hundred million on it. We are using money that is
in reserves in tapoking at plus a small one a
small a contingency fund that the Minister Finance is made available.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
Would you say, Minister, that's three hundred million dollars down
the drain.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
Pretty much wasted. Yes, because there's nothing to see for it.
They didn't do the work getting their financial pathways, so
they didn't do the work in selling off assets that
aren't needed. There's over one hundred million dollars worth of
assets that aren't needed that will be sold off over
the next couple of years. That's part of that financial

(03:28):
viability pathway. You shouldn't have more assets than you need.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
To have, Okay, Minister, appreciate your time. Penny Simmons, Minister
for Vocational Education. For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive,
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