Each of the courses "enrolled two or fewer learners”. Photo / Bevan Conley
Four courses at the UCOL Te Pūkenga Whanganui campus have been axed for the year, with the tertiary institution blaming low enrolment numbers and high levels of employment.
Security, hairdressing, Level 4 cookery and the New Zealand Certificate in Music courses are gone, and UCOL says it has been consulting with “fewer than five” affected staff members.
Executive director of UCOL’s business division, Brian Trott, said each of the courses enrolled “two or fewer learners”.
In 2021, UCOL’s Level 3 and 4 food and beverage programmes were also canned on the Whanganui campus.
Trott said New Zealand was in a prolonged period of nearly full employment.
”The demand for staff is causing problems for employers, educators, and customers alike.
”Other factors include a significant increase in private training providers in the past decade and the long-term trend of local rangatahi [youth] spreading their wings upon leaving school for travel, work or study.”
Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said via his mayoral Facebook page he had met with UCOL’s executive director of business and industry partnership Jasmine Groves last month and with Trott this week and agreed on a “fast-track action plan” to “reinvest and restore skills and capability growth for our community”.
When asked by the Chronicle what the plan was, Tripe said: “We agreed [on] a plan of sorts, that there would be a plan coming our way. That was the plan.”
”I asked yesterday what the plan was, and the feedback I got was, ‘We are going to have a workshop’. That’s not good enough,” he said.
”My provocation was to come back with a journey map and a plan to get back things back in order again and reinvest back into Whanganui, both in dollars but also in energy, and with the business community as well.
”There has been this rhetoric that ‘Whanganui is important to us’, but it’s just not transpiring.”
Hospitality New Zealand lower North Island regional manager Adam Parker said a lack of hospitality staff in New Zealand meant most employers were willing to take people on, regardless of experience or training.
”Most of our members have access to training advice through our organisation, where they are able to implement correct training plans,” he said.
”You can [sense] the desperation [regarding getting staff] in the industry at the moment because if you think about it, it’s not cost-effective and not time-efficient for a business to train a new employee up from scratch.”
“But yet, they are being forced to do it because of the lack of people in the country who are willing to do these jobs at the moment.”
Whanganui MP Steph Lewis said the unemployment rate in Whanganui was at 3.3 per cent and around 10 per cent of young people in Whanganui were not in education, employment or training.
”When we took office that figure was around 14.4 per cent, so that means there were around 1400 fewer young people who are looking for work or needing to get into education,” Lewis said.
She said Whanganui wasn’t inconsistent with other areas when it came to declining tertiary education numbers.
”Part of the idea behind Te Pūkenga was that each region would be able to assess where our skills gaps are, and then our local training and education providers, under the Te Pūkenga umbrella, would then be able to make sure our courses are being tailored to fill those skills gaps.
”That’s a process that is going to take a little while to work through, but I’m absolutely committed to making sure we’re retaining courses in Whanganui. I don’t want to see all of our people going across to the Palmerston North campus every day.”
In September, it was reported the institute was predicting an annual loss of $63 million, which could result in redundancies at UCOL’s Whanganui campus and other polytechnics.
Former UCOL board member from 2003 to 2007 and current National Party candidate for Whanganui, Carl Bates, said the further the decision-making was removed from Whanganui, the less focus would be put on it.
“You don’t have the same level of energy, engagement and enthusiasm that people based in Whanganui, who are fighting for a Whanganui course and students, would have.
He said in his time, board meetings alternated between each of its main centres.
”I think that kept the board focused on the Whanganui campus.
”It’s significantly concerning that numbers have dropped so much. You can’t tell me that drop is just in those courses. What’s next?”
Tripe said UCOL staff members whose jobs were under threat had livelihoods, investments and jobs in Whanganui.
“It’s through no fault of their own.
”Through the centralisation process, the ball has been dropped, and the fallout is affecting our local community.”
UCOL is now part of Te Pūkenga - New Zealand Institute of Skills & Technology, an amalgamation of the country’s 16 technology and polytechnic institutes.
Meanwhile, Trott said so far one affected staff member had been employed in a new role.
”We are endeavouring to keep our learners and staff informed, and if demand for these courses returns, then we will consider running them again,” he said.
”Learners who are currently enrolled in these courses will have the opportunity to continue their studies via our Palmerston North campus, and for those going into the workforce, we are able to help with in-work learning.”
A bus departs from the Whanganui UCOL Te Pūkenga campus at 6.45am and arrives in Palmerston North at 7.45am.
The return trip leaves Palmerston North at 5.15pm and gets back to Whanganui at 6:30pm.
Lewis said the Government couldn’t direct Te Pūkenga on what courses it offered and where.
“Under the old system, the courses offered changed depending on local demand.
“One of the reasons we created Te Pūkenga was because the old model was unsustainable and was forecast to be in financial trouble if we didn’t take action.
“I encourage anyone looking to study with Te Pūkenga, at our UCOL campus, to contact them and let them know their intentions so it can plan around that demand.”
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