Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
3 days ago
The Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (TTAF) and the Apprenticeship Boost (AB) have raised the demand for eligible EIT programmes, following the national trend.
Like EIT, many people, employers, and communities in the region have welcomed thegovernment support packages providing them with the opportunity to train and study for free. The range of programmes is targeted towards industry skill needs where demand from employers for these skills will continue to be strong, or is expected to grow, during New Zealand’s recovery period from the impacts of COVID-19.
“To date we have almost 500 learners enrolled in TTAF eligible programmes that have just started in July,” says Patrick Jones, EIT’s Executive Director of Portfolio and Performance.
The semester two enrolments are spread across all TTAF eligible programmes but there is particularly high demand for primary industries (agriculture and horticulture), construction and electrical engineering offerings. The School of Trades and Technology for instance has initiated a second electrical engineering cohort to support the booming numbers.
EIT has also seen significant demand in health and wellbeing programmes (aged care, mental health and addiction) and had to put on a second stream of the level 4 NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Advanced Support), something quite unusual for semester two.
In addition to these TTAF programme enrolments, EIT also currently has about 240 apprentices enrolled across carpentry, horticulture and automotive engineering. As well as the study fees for new apprentices being covered by TTAF, in most cases, the employer of the apprentice will also be eligible for the Apprenticeship Boost (AB) subsidy.
EIT is excited to support the people of Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti to remain in or find employment by providing training and offering future career prospects. Patrick says that the funding schemes will likely have an ongoing positive impact on student numbers. “We are predicting that we will see an even stronger demand for semester one 2021 intakes, so those interested should be making applications now.”
