ILT chief executive and Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) community adviser Chris Ramsay said placing the control of the training organisation back into local hands was also the biggest step towards developing a hospitality training base at the hotel site.
He had been working alongside SIT operations lead Daryl Haggerty on the venture and also to give SIT back its self-determination.
"This is certainly a hugely positive result for the province and for the city itself in the sense that it provides autonomy back to SIT to be able to work more closely with organisations such as ourselves.
"We are really looking forward to that coming back to fruition," Mr Ramsay said.
Diversifying the Kelvin Hotel’s operations to become a training hotel was an option available to the ILT which could offset any impact from the opening of the Distinction Hotel, he said.
But it was important to first understand the impact of 150 new hotel rooms and what SIT’s needs were before moving ahead, he said.
"I think there remains a huge opportunity for a fully functioning training hotel, or something similar, to provide a real point of difference for the city as far as attracting both domestic and international students to the city to learn and develop their skills.
"The Kelvin’s perfectly structured — it’s a six-floor hotel, 61 rooms.
"So we could look at [developing] one or two floors at a time depending on where their demand and needs analysis showed it being required," Mr Ramsay said.
The Free Fees Scheme introduced in 2001 had had a profound impact on the city.
"We entered this new millennium with such huge positivity from it and we’re really excited that the same spark is about to be ignited.
"We had a huge number of international students that just added such a breadth of diversity to our city and that was the catalyst for population growth in our city at a time when there was a mentality of ‘the last person out turn out the lights’."
Vocational Education Minister and Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds said SIT was one of 10 regional polytechnics which would be re-established from January 1, 2026, after the previous government merged 16 polytechnics to form Te Pukenga in 2020.
Mrs Simmonds said it had been a vigorous campaign against Labour’s reforms, which removed the ability of regions to respond to local training and employer needs.
"We’re rebuilding our incredibly important vocational education system so that it delivers — for students, for employers and for the future of New Zealand."
She believed restoring SIT’s autonomy would help to promote economic growth and support the area’s community.
However, Te Pukenga would remain throughout 2026 to support a smooth handover, she said.
Mr Haggerty said the community welcomed the return of SIT’s autonomy as it empowered it to shape its own future and customise its programmes.
- By Toni McDonald
