Tolley Anne: General Debate 
Tolley Anne: General Debate 
[Volume:675;Page:21060] 
Hon ANNE TOLLEY (Minister of Education) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. At the 2008 election National promised five trades academies. National promised to deliver five trades academies. Well this week we have announced that next year there will be 21 trades academies—21. There will be 10 more trades academies starting next year. The number of students attending those trades academies will rise from 700 this year to 2000 next year. These are 2000 young people who are at risk of falling out of the school system. After attending these trades academies they will be better prepared to take up apprenticeships to enter the workplace or to go on to further study. 
Next year the number of 16 and 17-year-olds who are taking part in the wider Youth Guarantee trades academies and service academies all supported by this National John Key - led Government will rise to 10000; 10000 16 and 17-year-olds next year—yep 10000. That is an outstanding effort not just from this Government but from the schools from the tertiary institutions and from business and industry across this country which have said: “We value these young people. We know that they are not necessarily succeeding in academia in schooling and we value them. We want them to be able to make a contribution as good New Zealand citizens and we’re prepared to get behind and support them.” Next year there will be 10000 16 and 17-year-olds in training. 
These trades academies have opened in New Zealand this year for the first time ever. We have never had trades academies before. Between 125 and 150 schools are taking part in the scheme. These are partnerships between schools tertiary institutions—in some cases polytechs and in some cases private training enterprises—and industry and business. A couple of these trades academies are being run by industry training organisations themselves. In particular primary industry training organisations are working with 17 high schools right around New Zealand making sure that young people who are interested in horticulture agriculture and forestry have the opportunity whilst they are still at school to take part in industry training and start on the way to getting their industry qualifications. 
At the same time of course they are continuing their school work. They are continuing to do English maths and science. They are continuing to play sport and continuing to take part in drama in art and in all the things that students enjoy about school. When we talk to these young people and ask: “How’s it going?”—the scheme has being going for only 6 months—we can see the light in their eyes. For the first time in a long long time learning is interesting for many of them. Learning is something they want to do. In fact one tutor at Christchurch said to me that he had had a call from a student’s mother asking: “Is he really turning up at polytech at 8 o’clock in the morning? Is he really there? Because he’s never been anywhere at 8 o’clock in the morning in his life.” The tutor had to say: “Yes he is there at 8 o’clock and often he is there before me.” When I talk to these young people up and down the country they say that for the first time in many many years they want to go to school. They want to learn. 
In Christchurch on Monday the tutors were telling me that the students are doing so well with their maths and English that their schools are surprised at the scores they are getting in quite complicated maths and English studies. This is hard work and we have to be aware that schools and tertiary institutions have worked really hard to put this scheme together. It has meant changes to their timetables changes to their funding and changes around staffing. It is not easy. 
We cannot just throw money at training and hope that young people will suddenly stick at education or training. To show how tough it is we have only to look back at the Labour Government. In 1994 Helen Clark said: “Labour makes a commitment within 3 years to have all under-20-year-olds in education employment and training.” That was in 1994. Again in 1998 she repeated the same.