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: 30 January 2013. Volume:687;Page:7599. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
6. 
COLIN KING (National—Kaikoura) 
 to the  
Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment 
: What recent announcements has the Government made about boosting the number of people being trained in apprenticeships? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Tertiary Education Skills and Employment) 
: 
 Last week the Prime Minister announced a number of changes to the industry training system to boost skills and support jobs. Our initiatives include that from 1 January next year we will combine Modern Apprenticeships and other apprenticeship-type training under an expanded and improved scheme called New Zealand Apprenticeships where apprentices will be provided with the same level of subsidy and support regardless of age. We will boost overall funding for apprenticeships by around $12 million in the first year rising over time. We will boost the educational content of apprenticeships to at least 120 credits resulting in trainees gaining a level 4 qualification. We will set clearer roles and performance expectations for industry training organisations increase competition by allowing employers access to industry training funding and raise the profile and participation of apprenticeships through a reboot initiative. 
Colin King 
: What does the apprenticeship reboot initiative involve and where has the funding come from? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: Under our reboot initiative we will give the first 10000 new apprentices who enrol after 1 April this year $1000 towards their tools and off-job course costs or $2000 if they are in priority construction trades. The same amount will also be paid to their employers in support of their costs in taking on an apprentice. The apprenticeship reboot and the general increase in funding to support New Zealand apprentices is being funded from the savings the Government has achieved by removing phantom trainees from the industry training system. When we came into Government about 100000 people a year were listed as being in industry training who were not actually achieving anything at all and in fact 11 of them— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. We all know that this Minister has had notice of this question and the supplementary question as well probably and surely he could be far more terse and to the point than that. It is tiresome. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The Minister was actually giving information he had been asked for in the question and that is why I did not stop him but it was getting longish. I think the Minister had got through most of his answer though had he not? 
Colin King 
: How will the Government’s changes to industry training support the Christchurch rebuild? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: These announcements form part of a comprehensive plan to boost trades training to take advantage of the Christchurch rebuild. Over the last 2 years despite the memory fade of the Opposition the Government has invested $64 million in trades training through Skills for Canterbury which provided 12000 additional places in polytechs in 2011 more than 2500 last year and a similar number this year plus of course our successful Maori and Pasifika trades training initiatives. This announcement will invest $106 million more in New Zealand Apprenticeships and wider industry training as the construction phase picks up in Christchurch and employers look to take on more staff. 
Grant Robertson 
: Does the $106 million in funding for the apprenticeship package that was announced last week include the increased funding required to cover the base training costs of the additional 14000 apprentices over the next 5 years that were part of the package? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: No the $106 million was calculated from the actual increase to those apprentices who are already in the system and on top of that the apprenticeship reboot and also the increase in subsidy for industry training. The actual money for the additional 14000 is on top of that again which just increases the size of the Government’s investment. 
Grant Robertson 
: So can he then confirm that the package did not include that base training cost for the 14000 extra apprentices which means using his own funding rate there is a more than $50 million hole in the package he announced last week? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: No not at all. The member is simply incorrect. 
Chris Hipkins 
: Where’s the money coming from? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: Well I will tell the member where the money is coming from. Removing some of the 100000 phantom trainees has saved us in fact $40 million to $50 million a year. That money has been put into these new initiatives. I am absolutely confident we have the funding not just for the reboot not just for the increase in subsidy for apprentices not just for the increase in subsidy for industry trainees but also for the ramp-up of the additional 14000 apprentices.