Latest news with #ToiOhomai
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Closure of Toi Ohomai's Tokoroa campus will 'condemn another generation to poverty', mayor says
The Pūkenga Rau building where Toi Ohomai is currently in Tokoroa. Photo: South Waikato Investment Fund Trust / SUPPLIED The mayor of South Waikato says the district will be "condemned to another generation of poverty" if Toi Ohomai's Tokoroa campus closes. The polytechnic provider is to exit Te Pūkenga and re-enter regional governance from the beginning of next year, but said to meet the government's financial expectations the Tokoroa campus may have to go. Mayor Gary Petley said South Waikato already ranked among the five-most deprived communities in New Zealand. "We don't have the luxury of skipping a generation, what do we do with that?" he said. South Waikato's recent long term plan shows 23 percent of 15-24 year-olds were not currently employed or in the education or training system, one of the highest levels in the country. "There is no shortage of research and evidence that tells us a critical factor in efforts to lift people out of those statistical categories, and out of deprivation, is to invest in education," Petley said. Mayor of South Waikato Gary Petley said Tokoroa was a community in need. Photo: Libby Kirkby-McLeod / RNZ Toi Ohomai executive director Kieran Hewitson said the organisation acknowledged the deep concern surrounding the proposed closure of its Tokoroa campus. "This decision has not been made lightly. The proposal reflects a need to ensure the organisation remains financially viable and sustainable, as expected by the Government. "Declining student numbers, rising operational costs, and reduced income have made it increasingly difficult to maintain multiple campuses, including Tokoroa." Petley said if a government-funded education provider could not afford to operate in an area such as South Waikato then it needed more money, not to retreat from a community in need. "This is a short-sighted and lazy decision driven by Te Pūkenga's (the national network for all the country's 25 polytechnics) need to find $9m in savings. "They are taking the easy way out, rather than finding other ways to achieve operational savings and to become sustainable, and it's come at the detriment of the people of South Waikato." Te Hautū Kahurangi Tertiary Education Union branch co-leaders for Rotorua, Santana Ammunson and Ashton Ledger, said in a statement that not having a Tokoroa campus would be devastating for communities within the South Waikato district, undermining years of hard work to establish the South Waikato Trades Training Centre. "It would erect new barriers to learning where progress had been made under Te Pūkenga (e.g. transport, technology-enabled learning, internet connectivity), and significantly reduce locally accessible opportunities for public vocational education and training which provide strong pathways to secure employment." The news of the proposed closure came just weeks after the district lost 150 jobs when the Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill ceased paper production. The Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill. (File photo) Photo: Libby Kirkby-McLeod "We're just smashed again," Petley said. Ammunson and Ledger agreed the decision to close the campus would cause significant detriment to a community already reeling from the closure of the Kinleith Mill. Hewitson said Toi Ohomai recognised Tokoroa's unique challenges, including its high proportion of youth not in education, employment, or training. "However, the decision is not a reflection of the community's value or potential. Rather, it is a response to the urgent need to focus limited resources where they can have the greatest impact," she said. Hewitson said Toi Ohomai would continue to support learners in the region, but it might not be through a traditional campus setting. This was unwelcome news to the mayor who said it was only two years ago that the council, government, Trust Waikato, and the South Waikato Investment Fund Trust (SWIFT) invested heavily in a building to house Toi Ohomai's Tokoroa campus. "You can understand how disappointed we were to find that out after contributing money into that space to help develop that facility that was purposely built for that, and it only just got past two years," said Petley. SWIFT owns the Pūkenga Rau building where Toi Ohomai is currently a tenant. Chief Executive Clive Somerville said the goal of the building was to be a community facility for equipping young people and older residents with valuable skills that support workforce development. "SWIFT's relationship, and our wider community's relationship, with Toi Ohomai is pivotal in delivering on our outcomes." He said as Pūkenga Rau owner and landlord, SWIFT's next steps were to work closely with the Crown, as leaseholder for Toi Ohomai, to understand its intentions for the South Waikato. Ammunson and Ledger from the Tertiary Education Union said the government had generated a lot of 'fuss' around the financial viability of institutions and pushed all of them into a rush to right-size. "The closure of regional campuses was not what we anticipated under a government that claims to be returning decision-making to the regions and shaping a regionally-responsive and sustainable vocational education and training system. It's all dollars and no sense." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Closurse of Toi Ohomai's Tokoroa campus will 'condemn another generation to poverty', mayor says
The Pūkenga Rau building where Toi Ohomai is currently in Tokoroa. Photo: South Waikato Investment Fund Trust / SUPPLIED The mayor of South Waikato says the district will be "condemned to another generation of poverty" if Toi Ohomai's Tokoroa campus closes. The polytechnic provider is to exit Te Pūkenga and re-enter regional governance from the beginning of next year, but said to meet the government's financial expectations the Tokoroa campus may have to go. Mayor Gary Petley said South Waikato already ranked among the five-most deprived communities in New Zealand. "We don't have the luxury of skipping a generation, what do we do with that?" he said. South Waikato's recent long term plan shows 23 percent of 15-24 year-olds were not currently employed or in the education or training system, one of the highest levels in the country. "There is no shortage of research and evidence that tells us a critical factor in efforts to lift people out of those statistical categories, and out of deprivation, is to invest in education," Petley said. Mayor of South Waikato Gary Petley said Tokoroa was a community in need. Photo: Libby Kirkby-McLeod / RNZ Toi Ohomai executive director Kieran Hewitson said the organisation acknowledged the deep concern surrounding the proposed closure of its Tokoroa campus. "This decision has not been made lightly. The proposal reflects a need to ensure the organisation remains financially viable and sustainable, as expected by the Government. "Declining student numbers, rising operational costs, and reduced income have made it increasingly difficult to maintain multiple campuses, including Tokoroa." Petley said if a government-funded education provider could not afford to operate in an area such as South Waikato then it needed more money, not to retreat from a community in need. "This is a short-sighted and lazy decision driven by Te Pūkenga's (the national network for all the country's 25 polytechnics) need to find $9m in savings. "They are taking the easy way out, rather than finding other ways to achieve operational savings and to become sustainable, and it's come at the detriment of the people of South Waikato." Te Hautū Kahurangi Tertiary Education Union branch co-leaders for Rotorua, Santana Ammunson and Ashton Ledger, said in a statement that not having a Tokoroa campus would be devastating for communities within the South Waikato district, undermining years of hard work to establish the South Waikato Trades Training Centre. "It would erect new barriers to learning where progress had been made under Te Pūkenga (e.g. transport, technology-enabled learning, internet connectivity), and significantly reduce locally accessible opportunities for public vocational education and training which provide strong pathways to secure employment." The news of the proposed closure came just weeks after the district lost 150 jobs when the Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill ceased paper production. The Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill. (File photo) Photo: Libby Kirkby-McLeod "We're just smashed again," Petley said. Ammunson and Ledger agreed the decision to close the campus would cause significant detriment to a community already reeling from the closure of the Kinleith Mill. Hewitson said Toi Ohomai recognised Tokoroa's unique challenges, including its high proportion of youth not in education, employment, or training. "However, the decision is not a reflection of the community's value or potential. Rather, it is a response to the urgent need to focus limited resources where they can have the greatest impact," she said. Hewitson said Toi Ohomai would continue to support learners in the region, but it might not be through a traditional campus setting. This was unwelcome news to the mayor who said it was only two years ago that the council, government, Trust Waikato, and the South Waikato Investment Fund Trust (SWIFT) invested heavily in a building to house Toi Ohomai's Tokoroa campus. "You can understand how disappointed we were to find that out after contributing money into that space to help develop that facility that was purposely built for that, and it only just got past two years," said Petley. SWIFT owns the Pūkenga Rau building where Toi Ohomai is currently a tenant. Chief Executive Clive Somerville said the goal of the building was to be a community facility for equipping young people and older residents with valuable skills that support workforce development. "SWIFT's relationship, and our wider community's relationship, with Toi Ohomai is pivotal in delivering on our outcomes." He said as Pūkenga Rau owner and landlord, SWIFT's next steps were to work closely with the Crown, as leaseholder for Toi Ohomai, to understand its intentions for the South Waikato. Ammunson and Ledger from the Tertiary Education Union said the government had generated a lot of 'fuss' around the financial viability of institutions and pushed all of them into a rush to right-size. "The closure of regional campuses was not what we anticipated under a government that claims to be returning decision-making to the regions and shaping a regionally-responsive and sustainable vocational education and training system. It's all dollars and no sense." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
15-07-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Toi Ohomai restructure proposal cuts jobs, threatens closure of Tokoroa, Taupō campuses
Toi Ohomai said the proposal was in response to a Government expectation to become 'financially viable'. With declining student numbers in Tokoroa and Taupō, the cost to run multiple campuses, and a drop in income, 'it is just no longer viable to operate in this way'. Toi Ohomai was yesterday among 10 training institutions to be re-established under regional governance next year, as the Government disestablishes national network Te Pūkenga. Union branch kaiarataki takirua (co-leaders) for Toi Ohomai Rotorua Santana Ammunson and Ashton Ledger are learning facilitators at Mokoia campus and learned on July 4 their roles were impacted by the proposed restructure. Ammunson said their team could reapply for comparable proposed new roles. Toi Ohomai Rotorua branch kaiarataki takirua (co-leaders) Ashton Ledger and Santana Ammunson are concerned about the proposed job cuts, particularly as it threatens the closure of Taupō and Tokoroa campuses. Photo / Supplied 'Whereas the rest of our support services teams, they have just been disestablished.' She said morale on campus was 'very grim', with concerns the loss of 'frontline support systems' would impact student success. Ammunson said losing the Tokoroa and Taupō campuses would limit access to 'a local place of study' for those communities. Ledger said the scale of the cuts was 'shocking'. 'I feel for Tokoroa because they've just had Kinleith Mill close … so many people are unemployed and there's an opportunity to get those people upskilling or back into education to help them with a new pathway. Kinleith Mill in Tokoroa has closed. Photo / Mike Scott 'They're pulling out the one, perhaps saving grace, from that region … ' His main concern was potential learners being at risk of losing 'everything'. Ledger called the situation 'kind of ironic'. He said Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds had said the Government wanted to ensure learners had access to regional vocational education training. 'All these change proposals … undermine that vision.' Toi Ohomai's Mokoia campus. Photo / Andrew Warner Toi Ohomai executive director Kieran Hewitson said the 'significant driver' for change was a government expectation of being 'sustainable and financially viable'. The proposal included ceasing delivery of campus-based programmes in Taupō and Tokoroa from 2026. Hewitson said courses with the highest number of ākonga (students) in Taupō and Tokoroa were the New Zealand Certificate in Automotive Engineering (level 3) and the New Zealand Certificate in Te Reo (Reo Rua) (level 2). The proposal retained the latter in Taupō. All other campus-based programmes would no longer be offered, Hewitson said. 'Where we can identify partnerships with employers, hapū and iwi and other groups to deliver programmes, we will.' All ākonga could complete the programme they were enrolled in, he said. Hewitson said the changes reflected where it must focus its 'limited resources'. It did not reflect staff and communities' 'great mahi' or there no longer being a need. It would still work with Taupō and Tokoroa communities, 'but in a different way'. He acknowledged kaimahi (staff) had been through many changes. The latest was 'necessary to prepare us to thrive in a world post-Te Pūkenga'. Hewitson said it was committed to delivering excellent vocational education and training within its 'funding envelope'. 'This requires us to think, and do, things differently to ensure a sustainable, responsive organisation fit for the future.' Consultation with staff would close on August 3. Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds. Photo / Phil Smith Responding to criticism of the cuts, Simmonds said the Government was committed to delivering a vocational education and training system that was 'stable, responsive to industry needs, and financially sustainable for the future'. The Government started disestablishing Te Pūkenga in 2023 as it worked towards a new structure. 'I acknowledge that this involves some difficult decisions, but they are necessary to fix a system that has been disrupted for too long by the failed centralisation experiment.' Simmonds said the Government had asked the Tertiary Education Commission to work with Te Pūkenga to support polytechnics to review their operations to ensure the sector's viability. She was not privy to information regarding polytechnics' operational decisions but it was important they ensured 'overall viability and maintain their relationships'. Simmonds acknowledged staff who had endured uncertainty 'for many years' and thanked them for their commitment to the sector. On Monday she said re-establishing the 10 polytechnics was a 'major milestone in building a vocational education system that's locally led, regionally responsive, and future-focused'. These changes were part of legislation before Parliament, expected to pass in October. The legislation also allowed mergers or closures if any polytechnic could not achieve viability. Labour tertiary education spokesman Shanan Halbert said the changes returned the sector to 'a model that was never financially viable'. 'The result will be major job losses in local areas.' Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.
Scoop
14-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Fewer Jobs, Opportunities In Regions Under National
The Government's changes to training in our regions will see jobs lost and fewer training opportunities. 'The whole point of Te Pukenga was to make the polytechnic sector more financially viable and ensure more training opportunities and employment in our regions,' Labour tertiary education spokesperson Shanan Halbert said. 'The changes announced today will only return the polytechnic sector to a model that was never financially viable – and the result will be major job losses in local areas. 'Toi Ohomai's Tokoroa campus could close, which is huge for a town that has also just lost its mill. WIT had proposed more job cuts as of Friday to business and hospitality. NorthTec, EIT and Ucol have been forced to propose further cuts as a result of the Government's proposals already. 'This Government could have simply addressed some of the issues Te Pukenga had, without disestablishing it, and avoided all the expense and uncertainly this has had on staff and students. 'The Minister is refusing to say how much this will cost and is ignoring advice on the risks of her proposal to the financial viability of polytechnics. Penny Simmonds couldn't even guarantee when asked this afternoon if they would all still be operational in two years' time. 'This is a sector that supports training for the kinds of jobs our regions need to fill skill gaps and boost local businesses and the economy. This Government is taking our regions backwards,' Shanan Halbert said.
RNZ News
07-07-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Our Changing World: Tauranga's living sea wall
Sea pods at Tauranga waterfront. Photo: Tauranga City Council Follow Our Changing World on Apple , Spotify , iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts Coastal critters have new habitat options along the Tauranga waterfront , thanks to the installation of 100 'sea pods' or 'living boulders' in May 2024. Weighing up to 1.2 tonnes each, the sea pods are indented with holes and crevices that mimic rocky tide pools, providing space for tiny organisms from shrimp to anemones to find a home. One year on, researchers are monitoring the manmade rockpools to find out what species have moved in. Marine scientist David Culliford and students Tiff Cooper and Taylor Rabbitt are monitoring the marine life found in the sea pods over time. Photo: Justine Murray / RNZ Constructed as part of Tauranga City Council's long-term strategy to redevelop the harbour, the sea pods aim to bring back biodiversity often lost in urban coastal areas. David Culliford, marine scientist at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, says urban modification over time has impacted marine life. "There's a tapas bar over there and if you look next to that there's some old piles which were part of the original harbour structure, and they're probably about 150 metres back from where we are right now," he says. The 'sea pods' are designed to encourage marine life back into highly modified urban shorelines. Photo: Tauranga City Council Tauranga Harbour, like many other city harbours, sits on reclaimed land. Rockpools and other coastal microhabitats have been covered up to make way for manmade constructions like sea walls or wharves. A 'living sea wall' provides ideal real estate for many shoreline-dwelling species, encouraging biodiversity to recolonise the urban waterfront. The idea of a living sea wall was developed in Sydney, Australia, through 30 years of research. The approach combines engineering and ecological concepts to create designs for pilings, panels and other modules that meet both human construction requirements, and wildlife habitat needs. Specially designed panels were installed on a North Sydney sea wall in 2018. Monitoring the biodiversity over time, researchers found a 36 percent increase in the number of different species living on the sea wall, compared to a sea wall with no modifications. "So we're re-introducing habitat, we're re-introducing habitat variety and so we can increase biodiveristy," says Dr Aria Lee, marine ecologist at Living Seawalls, a programme of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. A living sea wall in Tauranga comprising artificial rockpools called 'sea pods'. Photo: Tauranga City Council There are now 20 Living Seawall installations across Sydney Harbour, and around 1000 around the world in the UK, USA, Europe, Asia, Peru and, of course, Tauranga. Tauranga's 'sea pods' were designed by Living Seawalls in Sydney. But rather than ship tonnes of concrete across the ocean, silicone moulds were cast and sent to New Zealand for local manufacturing with concrete and recycled materials. Ongoing monitoring is tracking the changing biodiversity as the seasons, weather and tides shift. Monitoring work of the seapods along the Tauranga harbour. Photo: Tauranga City Council Tiff Cooper and Taylor Rabbitt, marine science students from Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology, conduct surveys to record the abundance of different organisms and measure algae cover and growth. Together with David and collaborators from the University of Waikato, they have documented branching algae, colourful sea slugs, and dancing flatworms, as well as "heaps of shrimp", says David. "They seem to be like little shrimp hotels, we find loads of them in here." They even found possible signs of the harbour's unique sneezing sponge colonising the sea pods. This blue 'sneezing sponge' is thought to be unique to Tauranga Harbour. Pictured here with two nudibranchs (sea slugs). Photo: Sam McCormack / iNaturalist NZ (CC BY-NC 4.0) David plans to install GoPro cameras to see what marine organisms take up refuge in the sea pods when they're covered with water at high tide. Plus, the eye-catching structures often elicit questions from curious members of the public. "We always get lots of enthusiasm while we're down here, it's cool," says David. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.
