Source: Radio New Zealand
Tai Poutini will become a campus of the Open Polytechnic next year. Google Maps
The West Coast polytechnic Tai Poutini will become a campus of the Open Polytechnic next year.
The institute is among the last four polytechnics remaining in super-institute Te Pūkenga.
Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds said the other three, Northtec in Northland, the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki and the joint Wellington region institute Weltec and Whitireia, would become stand-alone institutes from 1 January.
However, they would be placed in a federation with the Open Polytechnic aimed at supporting institutes that were relatively weak financially.
Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds. RNZ / Mark Papalii
Simmonds said the changes were aimed at creating a strong network of regional-led polytechnics.
“This is a major milestone in rebuilding a vocational education system that is locally led, financially sustainable, and focused on delivering the skills New Zealand’s regions need,” she said.
“It means training can better reflect the needs of local employers, support key industries, and ensure vocational education delivery aligns with workforce demand.”
Open Polytechnic chief executive Sharon Cooke said Tai Poutini would become a regional campus within the polytechnic.
She said it would provide face-to-face learning with the Open Polytechnic’s online and blended-delivery courses.
“This model allows us to bring the best of both worlds – local delivery where it matters most, supported by national scale and expertise,” she said.
She said the change would ensure polytechnic courses continued on the South Island’s West Coast.
Ten other polytechnics became independent institutions at the start of this year.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
