King Colin: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
King Colin: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 06 December 2012. Volume:686;Page:7268. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
3. 
COLIN KING (National—Kaikoura) 
 to the  
Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment 
: What progress is the Government making with strengthening the performance of our tertiary education system? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment) 
: 
 The Government is making good progress and is committed to increasing achievement in the tertiary sector improving quality and better matching the educational provision to the skills needed in the New Zealand economy and the skills needed by the learners.  
Profile and Trends 2011 
 an annual report on the performance of the tertiary system that was released today shows that we are making steady progress. In particular the report shows that people with degrees earn substantially more than those who do not have degrees. I think it is important to note for those considering learning opportunities that in 2011 people with a Bachelor’s degree or higher qualification earned on average 65 percent more than those people without a qualification. That is up from 63 percent in 2010. 
Colin King 
: Does the  
Profile and Trends 2011 
 annual report include any other performance measures that highlight the progress the Government is making in the tertiary sector? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: Yes. It is actually a very large report which has many indicators. I will give just a few highlights. For the first time in this country’s history the majority of New Zealanders—more than 50 percent; 52 percent—now have a tertiary qualification be it a degree diploma or certificate. The number of people aged 15 years and over with a Bachelor’s degree or higher qualification was 17 percent in 2011 and that has been a steady improvement on 11 percent 10 years ago. Women continue to outnumber men in holding a Bachelor’s or higher degree while men are more likely to have certificates and diplomas. The number of 16 and 17-year-olds in the Youth Guarantee scheme grew to just under 3600 in 2011 and the number of places will grow to 7500 in 2012. The report also shows that enrolments in adult and community education in schools rose by 16 percent in 2011. 
Grant Robertson 
: When he triumphantly tweeted: “Govt policy chngs in recent budgets = shorter studnt loan repaymnts. Median repayment time now 5.5yrs 4 those staying in NZ” was he aware that the previous year it had been 5.2 years and the year before that it had been 4.6 years? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: I understand that the method of calculation has changed in the intervening years. But I think the member makes a good point and it is an important point to highlight. It is important to note that those who do study and stay in New Zealand after their study tend to repay their student loans in just about 5.5 years. I think that is a very good record to show that we achieve in this country. And actually there is an improvement for Bachelor’s and higher degrees; they actually pay them off in a shorter period again. 
Grant Robertson 
: I seek leave of the House to table from Steven Joyce’s Facebook page his comment that Government policy changes in recent Budgets equal shorter student repayment times. This would normally be publicly available but Mr Joyce has so few friends I think we had better put it out there. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 









Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.