Myth Busting

Myth Busting

Last updated 31 March 2020
Last updated 31 March 2020

With a lot of change underway and on the horizon with the Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE), there is plenty to digest and make sense of. Each newsletter, we’ll provide you with some quick-fire Q&As, crack common misconceptions about the programme, and bust some of the myths on the radar to help keep the facts straight and ensure you’re up to date with the latest info.

Q. So what’s actually going to happen this year for RoVE?

There are a lot of different dates and milestones across RoVE, but by the end of this year we are aiming to achieve the following:

By the end of July 2020

Te Pūkenga  

  • ITPs are subsidiaries of Te Pūkenga
  • HQ location confirmed and possibly occupied
  • Te Pūkenga branded
  • CE in role and recruiting HQ staff
  • Table 1 deliverables ongoing
  • Te Pūkenga Council operating
  • High-level design of the future Te Pūkenga operating model

WDCs   

  • Design group and working groups established
  • At least three WDCs established

ITO Transition  

  • ITOs are Transitional ITOs (TITOs)
  • Transition plans are completed and approved
  • Some TITOs transitioned to new state

RSLGS  

  • 15 RSLGS established with community, regional employers, and iwi/Māori appointed
  • Providing advice
  • Working on Regional Workforce Plans (due by 30 June 2021)

CoVES  

  • The Primary Sector CoVE and Construction CoVE are established and operating
  • Industry, providers and other relevant groups are involved

UFS       

  • Targeted engagement and testing proposed approaches to the new funding category system underway               
  • Further detail on UFS policy and early implementation developed
  • Ongoing stakeholder engagement

NZQA   

  • Amended rules in place from April to reflect the establishment of Te Pūkenga and WDCs, and legal status change of ITPs and ITOs
  • Co-designing operational policy underpinning the design of education products and how they work
  • ITPs and ITOs informed of NZQA’s approach to undertaking External Evaluations and Reviews (a key part of NZQA’s quality assurance process) in 2020
  • Rules in place to support the design and delivery of education products 
  • Updated guidelines in place for Te Hono o te Kahurangi, reflecting updated rules

Taumata Aronui        

  • Established and holding regular meetings

Q. Will cash reserves accumulated by ITPs be used across New Zealand?

A. Since the Summary of Change Decisions was announced last August, the government’s position on ring-fencing cash reserves has not changed:

The Government’s objective is that existing reserves are in the future spent on the regions in which they had been accumulated by the relevant legacy ITPs.

Any cash reserves that are retained would still be consolidated through the central balance sheet of the Institute. However, these would only be able to be drawn upon for projects and capital expenditure in the relevant region that have been approved by the Institute national office (within specific operating parameters).

Cash reserves will be 'ring-fenced' on the Te Pūkenga’s balance sheet separately and transparently. They will only be available for use within the region they were accumulated by the relevant subsidiary ITP.

This is a Cabinet decision and the Te Pūkenga Council will give effect to it by developing an effective ring-fencing policy from 1 April 2020.