6. Question No. 6—EducationHon CLARE CURRAN (Labour—Dunedin South) to the Minister of EducationQuestion No. 6—Education6. Hon CLARE CURRAN (Labour—Dunedin South) to the Minister of Education: What is the Government doing to develop a sustainable vocational education system that delivers the skills that learners employers and communities need to thrive?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): The Government inherited a polytech system posting collective losses of around $70 million per year and with plunging enrolments. We needed to take bold and concerted action to ensure that our vocational education system remained viable and in fact we've done a lot more than that. This year we've developed a completely new integrated model that's going to take vocational education in New Zealand into the future that's going to put industry into the driver's seat and that's going to put students and trainees at the centre. Work putting our institutes of technology and polytechs into a sustainable long-term position is already well under way. Workforce development councils will be established in 2020. Centres of vocational excellence are also being established and the funding system is on the way to being overhauled.Hon Clare Curran: What decisions has he taken to prepare industry to take a leading role in the reformed vocational education system?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Yesterday I announced that we'll be establishing six industry-led workforce development councils. The areas of coverage for those six councils will be construction and infrastructure; another for primary industries; one for service industries; one for health community and social services industries; one for manufacturing engineering logistics and technology; and one for cultural creative and recreational industries. These groupings are based on the vocational pathways that schools are already very familiar with and they are industry's favoured model. Combined they cover most of the industries that employ around 2.5 million people in around half a million businesses across New Zealand. They'll bring together a number of new industries or sectors not currently covered by industry training organisations including areas in IT like web and graphic design fashion other ICT fields teacher support qualifications. They will now also have a powerful industry voice.Hon Clare Curran: How will those workforce development councils be important to the vocational education reforms?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Workforce development councils put industry in the driver's seat of determining what their skill needs are and they'll ensure that the education system delivers on those. The councils will ensure that training and qualifications meet industry standards and that courses that are taught are relevant and up to date and unless a training and education programme has the confidence of industry through its workforce development council it won't be approved and it won't be funded.Hon Clare Curran: What is the Government doing to encourage more people to enter vocational education and training?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Heaps but to name just a few: 4000 more Gateway and trades academy places are being funded from next year; 345 students received the very first Prime Minister's awards for vocational excellence this year; initiatives like speed meets are helping to connect up employers and students to create a stronger link between employers and the education system; and of course apprentices and trainees are eligible for two years of fees-free training under the Government's fees-free scheme.