Private training establishments

Budget 2011 acknowledges the challenges of the current economic climate and the need to support the Christchurch rebuild, and strikes a balance between providing places and meeting higher costs. 

It continues the Government’s drive for high performance, value for money and flexibility in responding to demand. It shifts funding away from areas of low demand to provide more places in high-demand, high-value areas and sets clear incentives for both students and organisations to continue their drive for excellence.

As part of Budget 2011, the Government is funding an additional 750 places from 2012 for high performing private training establishments. In addition, the Government is investing $17.5m million over four years to create new places for refugees and migrants to learn English in New Zealand. This Budget creates a new, expanded Youth Guarantee programme, by combining existing Youth Training and Youth Guarantee funding. This will result in up to 7,500 Youth Guarantee places being made available from 2012.

Budget 2011 also acknowledges the impacts of the February 22 earthquake and incorporates a $42m trades-training contingency fund as part of the Skills for Canterbury package to support the Christchurch rebuild with more trades training places, if required.

Targeted subsidy increases are the single biggest dollar value item in the 2011 tertiary education Budget. Budget 2011 provides a 2% targeted subsidy increase for degree and post-graduate study. It also increases the funding rates for post-graduate study. In addition, tertiary education providers will be able to increase fees for all Government-funded courses by up to 4% in 2012 under the Annual Maximum Fee Movement.

Recognising that international education contributes $2.3 billion to our economy, Budget 2011 also increases the funding for international promotion of New Zealand education by $10m a year, from $3.45m to $13.45m.

This year’s Budget also continues the focus on getting the best value for the Government’s spending in tertiary education. It addresses imbalances in the current approach to the funding of aviation training, where we are currently producing highly qualified pilots with high loans and little prospect of employment. It sets a new maximum fee limit of $39,273 for pilot training from 2012, and removes the ability for people to use the student loan scheme to fund solo flying hours for their Private Pilots and Commercial Pilots Licence requirements.

Budget 2011 also makes a number of changes in the student loan system, intended to help make the tertiary system more responsive to changes in demand and enable government to better manage the cost of the scheme.

Key points for PTEs:

• Funding for 750 additional places from 2012, to be allocated to high performing PTEs
• Combining Youth Training and Youth Guarantee into a new programme, Youth Guarantee, with up to 7,500 places from 2012
• $42m in contingency funding to provide up to 1500 additional trades training places to support the Christchurch rebuild
• Around 700 additional intensive ESOL places a year for refugees and migrants with low levels of English, which will be free to participants. There is also funding for up to 400 refugees to study towards an ESOL qualification
• Postgraduate funding rates increased from 2012. Post-graduate funding rates for PTEs will now attract the same top-up rate in dollar terms as do Tertiary Education Institutions (universities, polytechnics and wānanga)
• 2% increase in the subsidy rate for degree and post-graduate courses
• The Annual Maximum Fee Movement will allow tertiary education providers to increase fees for all Government-funded courses by up to 4% in 2012
• Funding for international promotion increased by $10m a year
• A maximum fee limit of $39,273 (excl. GST) per EFTS for pilot training programmes funded by the Tertiary Education Commission, from 2012
• Removal of access to student loan borrowing for solo flying hours as part of Private Pilots and Commercial Pilots Licence requirements
• Removing the entitlement for part-time full-year students to borrow course-related costs
• Restricting borrowing for those 55 years and over to cover tuition fees only
• Restricted loan eligibility for borrowers with overdue repayment obligations of $500 or more for one or more years