Funding that will double trade training opportunities for secondary school students over the next few years was among a suite of announcements made yesterday as part of Budget 2026.
The number of places at Trades Academies, which provide tertiary vocational courses for year 11-13 students, will be raised from 10,000 to 20,000 over the next four years to the tune of $69 million.
Some of these savings will also be used to provide 1000 more Youth Guarantee places, to support school-leavers with no or low qualifications into free study and work-relevant learning through polytechnics and other tertiary education providers.
Stewart Construction managing director David Grant welcomed the announcement and said it was very important to support and train apprentices.
But, over the past few years, he had noticed young people were struggling to get apprenticeships due to a lack of work.
‘‘Yes, it’s important to train them, but there’s also got to be some work at the other end so there’s confidence in the sector to take on and then train apprentices.’’
The company had nine apprentices, in the past they would have probably had 12-14, and other construction companies were taking on half as many apprentices every year.
There was not as much forward workload at present as there had been in the past, Mr Grant said.
‘‘There are still some out there who are probably struggling to get apprenticeships.
‘‘It will be good once there is a bit of a better pipeline in the construction industry.’’
Brent Lucas Builders owner Brent Lucas said he had had a few apprentices over the years through Gateway programmes, which were a good way for young people to recognise they had ‘‘an appetite for the building industry’’ before leaving school.
‘‘It’s hard to find the young fellows that are keen to want to do it these days.
‘‘If they want to be builders before they leave school, that would be a big plus.’’
There were probably a lot of young people out there who were keen to get involved before going to a polytechnic, Mr Lucas said.
‘‘Any academy has got to be good for the trade.’’
Otago Polytechnic chief executive Andrew McSweeney said the changes would allow it to provide more funded placements for secondary school students, rather than holding large wait lists for learners who wanted to engage in trade academy courses, but could not.
Otago Polytechnic operated a Trades Academy in Dunedin and Central Otago known as Otago Secondary Tertiary College (OSTC).
‘‘By doubling the number of placements available, we will potentially be able to offer up to an additional 309 OSTC placements by 2030 across the Otago region.’’
Dunedin is also home to Skills Group’s Glenelg St ‘‘Skills Hub’’ — which offers courses including electrical and roofing apprentice training.
Chief executive Rosanne Graham said the increased investment in Trades Academies and Youth Guarantee initiatives was ‘‘fantastic’’.
They created valuable opportunities for young people to gain practical skills and explore future career pathways.
‘‘Expanding these programmes will help more secondary students access industry-connected learning and strengthen vocational pathways into further training, apprenticeships and employment.’’
Business South welcomed the Budget.
Chief executive Mike Collins said it was a disciplined, growth-focused plan that put New Zealand’s finances back on track and positioned the economy for a sustainable recovery.
Building the skills pipeline was as important as building the infrastructure, Mr Collins said.
‘‘Doubling Trades Academy places and investing in vocational pathways at secondary school level is exactly the kind of long-term thinking that regional economies like ours need.’’
Changes to the Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) were also announced as part of Budget 2026.
That included the introduction of in-year payments so businesses could get their tax credit sooner, instead of waiting until the end of the tax year.
Mr Collins said this was a ‘‘meaningful cashflow improvement’’ for businesses investing in research and development.
MastaPlex chief executive Olaf Bork said this was a welcome change but ‘‘not a game changer’’.
It would definitely help start-ups and early expansion companies to keep their cash flow going, Dr Bork said.
‘‘More mature companies, it probably doesn’t matter to them, quite frankly.’’
