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Future of vocational education for construction and infrastructure

What matters to industry matters to us

The Minister for Vocational Education has announced further decisions regarding work-based learning.

These decisions are outlined in her letter here (dated 24 April 2025). 

To summarise:

  • Industry Skills Boards (ISB) will be set up from 1 January 2026 and will be statutory standard setting bodies. They will be responsible for developing qualifications, endorsing programmes and moderating assessments over key industry sectors. They will also have a workforce analysis function for their sectors and provide investment advice to the Tertiary Education Commission.
  • Consultation on the number of ISBs and their coverage will begin shortly.
  • As a transition arrangement, the Work Based Learning (WBL) divisions of Te Pūkenga will be temporarily managed by the ISBs for up to two years.
  • There is an opportunity for new industry owned Private Training Establishments (PTEs) to be established, offering work-based learning.
  • Other providers (Independent Training Providers, wānanga) will be able to do other work-based training.

Further information

New work-based learning model | Tertiary Education Commission

A better path for apprentices and trainees | Beehive.govt.nz

Waihanga Ara Rau remain focused on supporting the construction and infrastructure sectors

We will continue to deliver our core statutory functions throughout 2025. These include:

  • qualifications development
  • moderation
  • workforce planning
  • providing investment advice to the Tertiary Education Commission.

As the vocational education and training system continues to evolve, we are reviewing how best to align our work with available funding and ensure continuity in priority areas. 

We anticipate a reduction in funding from 1 July 2025, which will affect the scope of our delivery. As a result, some areas of work may be scaled back or discontinued.

We remain committed to delivering clear value to the sector. We will provide further detail on our work programme through to the end of 2025, including key outputs and transition milestones, when more is known.

The government intends to make further announcements over the coming weeks and months. We will continue to engage constructively and convey any new information to you as it becomes available. 

We will provide clear information on what Waihanga Ara Rau will deliver up to 31 December 2025, including key outputs and transition milestones.

Thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact us.