The Up Front Investment Tertiary Education Policy would include greater use of a bonding system for certain industries such as teachers, nurses, doctors and policy to accelerate skill debt reduction, education spokeswoman Tracey Martin said.
The NZ First 23rd annual conference was held in the city at the weekend and the party used the dominance of education in Dunedin to launch the policy.
All upfront investment would be recorded by Inland Revenue through the individual’s national student numbers.
The system would use a year-by-year reduction debt base.
For every year of study, there would be an expectation of a one-year skill exchange, Ms Martin said.
Each year worked in New Zealand would reduce the skill debt by a year.
For those who wished or needed to go overseas to gain further international knowledge, the industry lead groups, which might include the Medical Council, would be required to find a similarly qualified person to come to New Zealand for the period the Kiwi was out of the country.
That person’s work would count towards the original year-for-year repayment.
People who left New Zealand for further study or work, and did not return or provide a replacement for their role in, say, medicine, would be pursued for a dollar debt amount, she said.
The announcement the party would introduce a universal living allowance, not subject to parental means testing, as a priority for all full-time students was greeted by loud applause and cheers by the more than 200 delegates attending the convention in the Dunedin Centre.
The post-secondary education policy would mean widening the apprenticeship scheme.
Ms Martin said apprenticeships for non-traditional areas, such as truck driving, would minimise skill shortages and unemployment rates.
The wider scheme would also provide greater support for small and medium-sized businesses to take on apprentices.
There were already documented skill shortages in construction, science, communications and IT which equated to $1billion of lost tax revenue in the period ending 2025.
It was recognised in the next four years New Zealand would need more workers in accommodation, aged care, the automotive trade, hairdressing, mechanical engineering, plumbing, gasfitting, drainlaying and in retail.
"And I haven’t even mentioned the fact Chorus right now is screaming out for high-quality fibre installers."
NZ First recently announced a policy to support employers with the job seekers benefit when taking on an apprentice who would gain an "on the job" qualification.
NZ First said the total cost of its Up Front Investment — to remove the debt burden from young people — was $4.6billion, or 1.86% of gross domestic product.
There is likely to be some dispute over the costing of the policy, but National could easily fit the Up Front Investment policy within its own aims to get more people into study and contributing to the economic growth of the country.
Parents will see benefits for their children not having to take out massive loans for their education.
The danger for Ms Martin in releasing the policy so early is National stealing some of it before the election.
