Initiative aims to develop students' skills to match manufacturing careers
The New Zealand government is expanding to four more regions an industry-led vocational training initiative aimed at tackling skills shortages following the programme's successful pilot in Waikato.
Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Cameron Brewer said the initiative, called the Earn as You Learn programme, will expand to the Hutt Valley, Bay of Plenty, Christchurch, and Auckland.
Under the programme, students will be able to combine classroom-based learning with paid workplace experience while completing a Level 3 New Zealand Certificate in Manufacturing.
"What makes Earn as You Learn unique is its rotational model. Students experience different manufacturing environments and career pathways, combining paid workplace learning with formal training and industry mentoring while they decide on their future," Brewer said.
The expansion will add new cohorts of around 20 students in each of the four regions in 2027, with further expansion planned.
What is the Earn as You Learn programme?
The Earn as You Learn programme, developed by manufacturers and driven by Advancing Manufacturing Aotearoa, was initiated to train more workers for manufacturing careers amid challenges in workforce availability in the sector.
"Manufacturing employs more than 220,000 people and is helping drive our economic recovery. To keep that momentum, manufacturers need a pipeline of skilled workers, and this programme delivers exactly that," Brewer said.
The programme's expansion follows its successful pilot in the Waikato region, where Brewer said the majority of the students are now in full-time work.
"That is what collaboration between industry and local education providers looks like, and credit belongs to the Government-backed Advancing Manufacturing Aotearoa, led by Catherine Lye," the minister added.
Brewer encouraged students, schools, and manufacturers to get involved with the programme ahead of the 2027 expansion.
"This is manufacturers, educators and Government working together to fix the basics and build the future, growing the skilled workforce New Zealand's manufacturing success depends on," he added.
