Te Taitokerau Trades Academy MoU Signing Signals Way Forward

NorthTec - Te Taitokerau Trades Academy MoU Signing Signals the Way Forward

A new strategic partnership between NorthTec and Te Taitokerau Trades Academy -- a co-operative enterprise representing all of the Secondary Schools in the region -- is a step in the right direction, says NorthTec Chief Executive Paul Binney.

Mr Binney and Tikipunga High School Principal Peter Garelja (on behalf of the Academy management team, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalise the Secondary Tertiary Partnership (STP) arrangement.

The agreement is in line with a key priority for Government to help students to remain engaged in education and achieve worthwhile qualifications. The Government believes Trades academies will provide students with an integrated pathway into a trade through closer alignment of schools, the tertiary sector and industries.

“NorthTec wants to support secondary schools to ensure students are retained and engaged in school and have the relevant skills to transition to further training and employment,” Mr Binney says. This development supports the government’s Better Public Service goals and targets, such as 85% of 18 year olds to achieve at least a Level 2 qualification.

Mr Garelja says the Te Taitokerau Trades Academy management group sees the formalised partnership with NorthTec as being highly beneficial to all partners in providing a coherent and sustainable strategy to further upskill our young people.

The TTTA management is made up of: Peter Garelja (Tikipunga High School), Jim Luders (Northland College), William Tailby (Kaitaia College) and Elaine Delaney (Kamo High School) with Joanna Smith as the Regional Manager of Tai Tokerau Trades Academy. Schools currently involved in the Te Taitokerau Academy are: Whangarei Girls High, Whangarei Boys High, Kamo High School, Tikipunga High School, Dargaville High School, Otamatea College, Northland College, Whangaroa College and Kaitaia College.

Next year Broadwood Area School, Opononi Area School and Tauraroa Area School will also join the Academy.

The MoU will enable students to be supported by NorthTec’s expertise and resources. The aim is to support the learner so they stay in school and find a vocational pathway which will ultimately lead to further training and/or employment.

NorthTec’s involvement will be important in alleviating transition anxieties for students wanting to study with NorthTec in the future as well as building and developing collaboration and relationships with secondary schools in the Northland region.

NorthTec is the Tai Tokerau (Northland) region's largest provider of tertiary education, with campuses and learning centres in Whangarei, Kerikeri, Rāwene, Kaikohe and Kaitaia.  NorthTec also has over 60 community-based delivery points from Coatesville in rural Rodney to Ngataki in the Far North.

ENDS

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