Speak up for vocational education and training!

Make a submission on the Education and Training (Vocational Education and Training System) Amendment Bill. Submissions close at 11.59pm Wednesday, 18 June 2025.

Read more below on how to do a quick, or longer submission.

Our rangatahi and adult learners deserve opportunities for learning, and these need to be resourced well across the motu. 

The Greens have a vision for a vocational education and training system where learners and staff are respected and valued, where education is recognised as a public good and invested in. All communities – from Kaitāia to Bluff – deserve a network of thriving polytechs. 

Unfortunately, proposed changes from the government outlined in the Education and Training (Vocational Education and Training System) Amendment Bill do not share this vision. This bill threatens cuts to the courses and teaching staff that learners value and will block the vocational education and training sector from thriving.  

We know our staff and students deserve better.  

This bill: 

• Pulls apart Te Pūkenga into separate organisations, forcing polytechs to cut courses, cut in-person training, and cut teaching staff to stay afloat 

• Allows polytechs to have zero student and staff representation on their governing councils 

• Transitions the Workforce Development Councils into Industry Skills Boards but leaves the creative sector out of the new structure. 
   

We encourage you to make a submission to the select committee.

Tips:  

Your own words and point of view are enough. Your submission can be as long or as short as you like – it can just be a sentence saying you oppose the Bill. 

Try to use your own words as much as possible and tell the Government to stop the bill 

If you want to go into more detail, below is a basic structure your submission could follow, and we’ve linked more information below. 

1. Start your submission: 

I oppose the Education and Training (Vocational Education and Training System) Amendment Bill and ask the Select Committee and government to abandon this Bill. 

2. Make your recommendation: 

Tell the Select Committee why you oppose this bill. We recommend putting this in your own words and making it your own. 

You can start by saying who you are, what you do (for example “I am a parent, I am a teacher…”), what you value about access to education, and living in Aotearoa New Zealand (Te Tiriti, environment, looking after one another). 

Then you could say, for example:   

• Staff and student representation must be guaranteed on the Polytech Councils, similar to how it’s guaranteed for University Councils 

• If Te Pūkenga is disestablished, all staff and students must be supported through the transition, particularly those that need tailored support – such as the disabled, Māori and regional communities 

• The $20 million that was set aside in the budget is not enough – polytechs must get the funding they need if the Government is serious about thriving and independent polytechs. The polytechs that went into Te Pūkenga with debt must have their debts written off and the polytechs that went into Te Pūkenga with a surplus must have their surplus restored 

• If the new Industry Skills Board goes ahead, there must be a dedicated space for the creative industry to recognise their role as one of New Zealand’s top exports and biggest employers 

• Share your concern about cuts to staff, courses, and in-person training as a result of this model, and the impacts those cuts will have on people’s education and skills development, and the wider community. 

Communities around Aotearoa deserve a thriving vocational education and training sector with thriving polytechs that support learners and staff in their region. Your submission is a key part of making this happen – thank you for taking the time.