Calder Cam: Industry Training and Apprenticeships Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCalder Cam: Industry Training and Apprenticeships Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 15 April 2014. Volume:698;Page:17248. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr CAM CALDER (National): We on this side of the House realise that for New Zealand to remain internationally competitive our tertiary education providers need to ensure their relevance in the modern workplace. That is a given. I would like to acknowledge the help of the Opposition members on the Education and Science Committee when we were going through the Industry Training and Apprenticeships Amendment Bill. Even though they lodged their objections to the bill they did work hard to make some improvements and I hope to touch upon those later in my brief speech.We have got a Better Public Services target of aiming to get to 55 percent—55 percent—of 25 to 35-year-olds gaining a level 4 or better qualification. In 2012 we managed to get up to 52.6 percent with level 4 or above which was an improvement on the previous year’s 51.8 percent. Since coming into office we have worked hard on many different strands of lifting educational achievement. The Industry Training and Apprenticeships Amendment Bill is just one of those strands in the cable of lifting student achievement over a lifetime of learning.We are clear having reviewed the industry training that was on offer over 2011-12 that there were some changes necessary. Some changes were needed to ensure that the industry training system was well connected to industry with a high employer buy-in that it was educationally sound that it was coherent with the wider tertiary education system and that it delivered value for money for employers and the Government.We have heard in this House over the time that this bill has been debated how a remarkable number of trainees did not actually exist. They were phantom trainees. I wonder whether they signed in under the name of “Mr Walker” the ghost who walked because they certainly were not there at the end of the day and they certainly were not there to receive their qualifications. In fact some of them did not even exist. Some of them may have been dead. We do not know what the reason for the non-appearance of the others was but we are determined to get on top of this.This bill will establish a comprehensive apprenticeships system that provides the same level of support to all apprentices regardless of age. It was pleasing to hear the Opposition acknowledge the worth of this provision the New Zealand Apprenticeships system which will mean that people will no longer be discriminated against for their age. All apprentices will get the same level of support the same level of subsidy regardless of their age.The bill will focus the industry training organisations on two key functions as we have heard: setting skills standards for their industries and arranging training. It will clarify the functions and powers of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority in relation to the industry training organisations. It will include criteria relating to quality assurance in the process by which the responsible Minister recognises an organisation as an industry training organisation.This bill is as I said yet another strand in this Government’s steadfast resolve to make a stronger cable to lift students’ achievement across the board right from early childhood education and right through primary secondary and tertiary levels. I commend this bill to the House.