Year 13 students in a construction class at Wellington College. Photo: RNZ / John Gerritsen
School careers advisors say teenagers planning a life in the trades deserve a better deal from the education system.
They told RNZ schools and the qualification system were too focused on the 30 percent of teens who went to university.
They said trade training options were often murky and unfair, leading some teens to abandon plans for further study and training.
Careers and Transition Education Association president Craig Dyason said the surprise cancellation last year of the Prime Minister's $2000 awards for excellence in vocational subjects was a reminder of where trades stand in the education system.
He said the decision meant schools lost a big prize that put their most handy students on a par with top academics at end-of-year prize givings.
"It just seems to feel that vocational education is not seen as strong a valid pathway for young people as a more academic pathway within schools, which I think is a real shame," he said.
Dyason said community attitudes to vocational courses needed to change,
He said there had been so much chopping and changing of funding and fees for tertiary courses and apprenticeships that it was increasingly difficult to give students clear advice.
"It's very much a bit of a murky space with all the changes going on and vocational education at the moment it is a little bit unclear and even the the training providers don't really know what the future holds for them," he said.
"When it comes to young people making choices as to their trade. It can be a little bit more difficult to understand the ins and outs and the requirements and subject requirements that they may need for one trade that they don't need for another.
"There are newer kinds of ways to get into trades such as pre courses and then the promise of employment afterwards so it's a very murky space.
The cancelled $2000 Prime Minister's for excellence in vocational subjects had put their the best students on a par with top academics at end-of-year prize givings, Craig Dyason said. Photo: RNZ / John Gerritsen
Another member of the association's executive, Amy Tregidga, said the fees free system was not working for many school-leavers who wanted a vocational qualification.
She said those who did not have University Entrance or NCEA level 2 did not want to waste their entitlement to up to $12,000 of fees-free study on a half-year certificate or pre-trade prepatory course.
"They're thinking... 'I want to maximise the $12,000 and do maybe a diploma or a longer length certificate' but then they're caught because they don't have the entry criteria," she said.
Tregidga said some foundation courses no longer used a students' fees-free entitlement, but there were others that were not covered.
Wellington College head of careers and transition, Hamish Davidson, said the education system did not work particularly well for students considering a polytechnic course or apprenticeship.
Hamish Davidson said the current system made it more difficult for young people to enter industry training. Photo: RNZ / John Gerritsen
"I think the the structure in some schools is strongly focused on University Entrance. The senior curriculum is dominated by university entrance subjects. School structures, timetable structures don't necessarily enable meaningful trade space learning," he said.
"We need to change how we value non-university pathways. I think one of the problems is the unit standard/achievement standard comparison. I think we need to have a more seamless process so if students are doing for example, construction standards in school and they achieve those, it should automatically count towards apprenticeship."
Davidson said the current system made it more difficult for young people to enter industry training.
"Students who are really keen to get into the trades into apprenticeships are at the moment, struggling to get those. I know some boys who had really great work placement reports last year with us, who are still trying to find someone who would give them an apprenticeship," he said.
"If there aren't really good connections between schools and industry bodies or the people organising apprenticeships, then it becomes quite easy for students to slip through the cracks."
Davidson said the government's current overhaul of vocational education, including the disestablishment of super-entity Te Pūkenga, did not include any improvements to the transition from school to tertiary courses and industry training.
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